Nursing 335 Week 5
Which response indicates interpersonal conflict on the neurology unit at the hospital?
A registered nurse and a nursing assistant are arguing over who should take clients to the bathroom. Interpersonal conflict is conflict between two or more individuals due to differences and/or personalities, or to competition or concern over territory, roles, or responsibilities. The nurse can delegate the duty of taking clients to the bathroom to the nursing assistant; the nursing assistant should not argue about the role responsibility. A group of nurses complaining to management about wages and a nurse questioning physician orders are examples of intergroup conflict. A nursing assistant who decides to take a job for more money may experience intrapersonal conflict.
A nurse and physician are engaged in a heated discussion in the hallway of the unit. The nurse pokes the physician in the chest while making a point. What is the appropriate action by the staff nurse witnessing the event? Group of answer choices
Call the unit manager While empathy and consideration are key components of the nurse's role, abusive behavior is never acceptable. To promote safety for the healthcare providers and the clients, inappropriate demonstrations of anger, including hostile verbal or physical behaviors, should be reported immediately to the team leader or charge nurse. It is not appropriate to separate the individuals physically, call security, or try to deescalate the situation at this time.
The nurse knows that role expectations and boundary issues are a primary source of conflict within health care. What are some issues within this primary source that cause conflict?
Inaccurate information Effective communication Lack of understanding In order to meet client needs, collegial (power equity between nurse and physician) and collaborative (mutual power) relationships between nurses and physicians must be fostered. Social, personal, and legal relationships may interfere with the success of a relationship that requires respect and trust.
The nurse-physician relationship is the cornerstone of client care. In order to meet the needs of the client, what types of relationships between the nurse and physician must be fostered?
Inaccurate information Lack of understanding Resistance to change Role expectations and boundary issues are a primary source of conflict within health care. They may arise from a lack of understanding or awareness of which task each team member is to perform due to miscommunication, inaccurate information, and resistance of some members to change. Cooperation and effective communication often lead to conflict resolution.
Jamie, an RN, has been experiencing job stress since starting a new position in the ICU. What is the first strategy that Jamie will use to decrease or manage stress levels in the workplace to reduce the likelihood of conflict?
Recognizing her own stress First and foremost, nurses need to recognize their own tension or stress level in the workplace: Taking steps to decrease or manage stress levels helps to reduce the likelihood of initiating conflict. Listening to others, avoiding destructive criticism, and encouraging others are all strategies that may help prevent or reduce conflict, but are not the first step.
A nurse manager has to manage intergroup conflict between both the pediatric and labor and delivery (L&D) units. The nurse manager realizes which responses are examples of covert conflict among the staff nurses?
"We heard that the nurses on the pediatric unit have been discussing our issues on other units." "Conflict? What conflict? You have to work to have conflict, and most of our nurses have been out sick." In covert conflict, the conflict is not discussed openly. It may be avoided or ignored. Covert conflict may be exhibited in reactive, repressive, and avoidant behaviors. Nurses gossiping about behavior they "heard" about on another unit is an example of reactive behavior that may arise as a result of covert conflict. Repressive behaviors include absenteeism and tardiness. The nurses that have called in sick may be exhibiting repressive behaviors.
A nurse manager holds a monthly staffing meeting about understanding and recognizing conflict. Which strategies to prevent or reduce conflict on the unit are appropriate for the nurse manager to include?
Acknowledging each other's accomplishments Treating each other with respect Addressing issues as they arise Strategies that may help prevent or reduce conflict include: addressing issues when they arise, avoiding destructive criticism, treating others with respect, defusing arguments, listening and considering each other's point of view, fairly allocating resources, defining role expectations, encouraging feedback, and acknowledging each other's professional and personal accomplishments and achievements. Ignoring the conflict or calling in sick are not appropriate strategies to manage conflict.
Claire, a nurse working on a medical-surgical unit, knows that everyone does not respond to conflict in the same way. What is the best way for Claire to manage potential conflict? Group of answer choices
Collaboration Collaboration is a positive approach to help manage conflict. Collaboration involves compromise, where all parties attempt to reach an acceptable solution for all. Avoidance can be appropriate in some situations, but eventually leads to increasing conflict in the long-term. Competition uses power to stop conflict and prevents efforts of compromise. Accommodation may resolve conflict quickly for one individual or group, but not everyone involved in the conflict.
A unit nurse asks the nursing assistant to take vital signs. The nursing assistant immediately becomes defensive, complaining that "Nurses never take care of their own patients!" Which action is priority in resolving this conflict? Group of answer choices
Decrease personal stress levels before discussing the issue. First and foremost, nurses need to recognize their own tension or stress level in the workplace; taking steps to decrease or manage their stress levels helps to reduce the likelihood of initiating conflict. Afterwards, the nurse should allow the nursing assistant to express thoughts and feelings without interruption, reiterate that client safety and effective care is the goal, and define the role expectations.
The nurse manager is discussing ways to prevent horizontal violence in the workplace with the nurses on the unit. Which action helps each nurse on the unit become partners in preventing workplace bullying?
Educate others through unit presentations about the ramifications of workplace violence. Each nurse and nurse manager has a responsibility to act to prevent workplace bullying. One way to prevent this form of aggression and violence is to educate others about the ramifications of bullying. Condoning or encouraging gossip, ignoring negative comments, and allowing humiliating or hostile behaviors are actions that promote, rather than discourage, bullying in the workplace.
The nurse on the unit hears other nurses complaining about the nurse manager and how the unit is run. The nurse knows that in order to help resolve this conflict, she must try to understand the cause. Which factors may be causing conflict in this situation?
The nurse manager is not communicating effectively with the staff nurses.. The nurse manager is not keeping promises regarding staffing issues. The staff nurses are being resistant to changes that the nurse manager is implementing. The nurse manager is not using an effective leadership style. Typical causes of conflict within the workplace include: miscommunication, mistrust, inaccurate information, ambiguous role expectations, ineffective teamwork, inadequate project planning, ineffective leadership, and resistance to change.
A client becomes angry with the nurse when breakfast does not arrive on time. Instead of explaining that breakfast is late due to a grease fire in the kitchen, the nurse has a nearby diner deliver the client's breakfast, which the nurse brings to the client's room. This action reflects which response to conflict?
Accommodation Accommodation occurs when an individual attempts to eliminate or resolve conflict quickly by cooperating with the person with whom the individual has a conflict. The nurse accommodates the client by ordering breakfast from the diner. While collaboration, avoidance, and competition are ways to resolve conflict, they are not reflected in the example.
A physician asks the nurse about providing an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) class for the new medical residents and nurses hired last week. A second physician does not believe a nurse to be qualified to teach this course. What type of relationship is the first physician exhibiting to decrease conflict among healthcare providers? Group of answer choices
Collegial The physician is exhibiting a collegial relationship with the nurse. A collegial relationship is one where the nurse and the physician have equal power. A collaborative relationship focuses on mutual power, but the physicians' power is greater. The second physician is exhibiting a collaborative relationship. Avoidance and accommodation are both strategies used to resolve conflict.
Which behaviors would the nurse correctly identify as forms of workplace bullying?
Ridiculing Being sarcastic Gossiping Behaviors that reflect workplace bullying may include gossiping about, speaking sarcastically to, and ridiculing a coworker. Avoiding a coworker or an incidence of bullying, while unprofessional, does not in itself constitute bullying. Encouraging others is a behavior that prevents workplace bullying.
Nancy, a nurse in the ICU, has been avoiding talking to her co-worker, Jim, about the subject of yearly evaluations. Nancy received a substantial raise with her yearly evaluation, and Jim did not. Jim has been complaining to Nancy in the break room and making negative comments about their manager and other coworkers since the evaluations. He complains, "I don't see how anyone got a pay raise if I didn't, because I am the best at what we do!" What type of conflict is Nancy experiencing?
Covert, interpersonal Nancy is experiencing an interpersonal conflict, conflict between two or more individuals due to differences, personalities, or competition over territory, roles, or responsibilities, with Jim in the form of competition related to performance evaluations. Nancy is experiencing covert conflict because she is avoiding talking about the issue openly. The issue is overt for Jim, because he is openly discussing the issue, but not for Nancy. The issue is not intrapersonal (covert or overt) because the conflict is not occurring within Nancy.
A nurse entrepreneur who is also a workplace bullying survivor is providing a seminar on the subject at a local hospital. What are appropriate objectives for the nurse entrepreneur to provide to the attendees of this seminar regarding the prevention of workplace bullying?
Educating others about the ramifications of bullying Developing acceptable codes of conduct Encouraging mandatory reporting Strategies to prevent bullying include educating all staff about bullying; developing and following acceptable codes of conduct; promoting zero-tolerance attitudes toward bullying; encouraging mandatory reporting and investigating of bullying; providing training that prevents, identifies, and addresses bullying behaviors; and creating environments of safety and respect. Isolating the victim is considered a nonverbal expression of horizontal violence. Gossiping about either party involved constitutes horizontal violence. Horizontal violence is a form of bullying.
A nurse and a family member are having a disagreement in the client's room. The conversation is verging on an argument. The nurse manager knows that which items are critical to manage this conflict and prevent further escalation?
Expressing empathy and consideration of both parties Listening to both sides Clearly communicating limits of behavior In the long term, empathy, consideration, active listening, and clear communication are critical to prevent and manage conflict. Siding with the nurse will only inflame the conflict, and there are no acceptable levels of hostility.
Julie, a novice nurse, is explaining the plan of care to Mr. Baker, a client who is being seen by a primary care physician. The client states, "I don't exactly understand why I am here." The nurse tells the client that she will get someone to explain further and calls the preceptor to the consultation room to help with clarification. The preceptor states she cannot help right now because Julie needs to "stand on her own two feet." Julie and the preceptor have a heated discussion with the nurse manager regarding this incident. Which common cause of workplace conflict is depicted in this scenario?
Ineffective leadership The preceptor is there to help guide the novice nurse with any questions or issues that come about during client care. By failing to support the novice nurse as requested, the preceptor is displaying ineffective leadership and teamwork. The preceptor communicated effectively with the novice nurse; therefore miscommunication is not a source of their conflict. The preceptor did not tell the novice nurse that she would come to the client room and then fail to follow through. Therefore, this conflict was not caused by mistrust, although it may result in a diminished sense of trust between the nurse and the preceptor. The preceptor is made aware of her role expectations when she is given the task to precept a novice nurse. The novice nurse asked her preceptor for assistance which is a role expectation as a novice nurse. There is no indication of ambiguous role expectations based on the scenario.
Two hospitals in a small town have applied for Magnet status. Hospital A has achieved this status, while Hospital B is still on their Magnet journey. Hospital B is now offering sign-on bonuses to entice BSN prepared staff members to join their team. What type of conflict could occur in this situation?
Interorganizational conflict Interorganizational conflict occurs when one organization within the same market is in direct competition with another. If one organization is able to offer sign-on bonuses and other benefits that create a competitive advantage, that may alter the ability of other organizations to recruit and retain staff, creating conflict. Intergroup conflict is conflict between teams that are in competition for rewards or resources. Intrapersonal conflict is conflict that occurs within an individual that causes stress from real or perceived pressure generated by incompatible expectations or goals. Interpersonal conflict is conflict between two or more individuals due to differences and/or personalities, or to competition or concern over territory, roles, or responsibilities.
Dawn, a nurse manager, approaches Jarrod, an RN who works third shift on their unit, and offers him the opportunity to become the charge nurse on first shift. The job comes with an increase in responsibility as well as a pay raise and bonuses. Jarrod answers, "I have to discuss this with my wife. Can I have time to think about my decision?" What is the best description of the type of conflict Jarrod may be experiencing?
Intrapersonal Jarrod is experiencing intrapersonal conflict, which occurs within an individual and causes stress from real or perceived pressure generated by incompatible expectations or goals. While the job might appear ideal, Jarrod wants to discuss the change with his wife because it might impact their marriage or family life in a way that may be incompatible with their own expectations or goals. Interpersonal conflict occurs between two or more individuals that have differences of opinion, personalities, concerns, roles, or responsibilities. Intergroup conflict occurs between teams that are in competition for rewards or resources. Interorganizational conflict is conflict or competition between two organizations that exist within one market.
