Conflict prevention and management in nursing

Abstract

Background. Many nurses may experience contentious moments with a colleague that can escalate into conflicts in the workplace with various consequences. The outcome of conflicts depends on the strategy of conflict management. For proper conflict resolution, nurses need to know the causes of organizational conflicts because the consequences can negatively affect the health and emotional background of nurses, and even the entire team. Objective: Find out if there are conflicts among Kazakh nurses who work in a hospital environment and find the causes of conflicts described by nurses to prevent conflicts in the future. Methods. The qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured individual interviews with 27 nurses and 2 senior nurses. Results. The findings showed the presence of conflicts among Kazakh nurses. Respondents described these conflicts in the workplace. Intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflicts were revealed. Almost all participants tried to resolve the conflict without assistance, through cooperation. Avoidance as a conflict management style was used mainly by young nurses with little experience. Conclusion. These findings will help Kazakhstan's nursing administration to prevent the negative consequences of conflicts. The relationships of colleagues in the workplace are based on interpersonal relationships, so it is not surprising that interpersonal conflicts were more common. An important component when communicating with colleagues is respect for each other, rapport, despite the fact that it is a nurse without qualifications or a nurse manager.