Misunderstandings among staff and employees can be expected, but they can also be a chance to improve how teams work and care for their residents.
By enhancing dialogue skills, healthcare workers can build stronger relationships with their team members and residents, directly impacting satisfaction and outcomes.
In this article, we’ll discuss effective conflict resolution techniques for handling workplace challenges to create a more supportive environment for residents and their healthcare workers.
What is effective conflict resolution in a healthcare setting?
Effective conflict resolution is about figuring out how to handle disagreements and making sure everyone involved comes to a working agreement.
It’s about talking things out, understanding each other’s points of view, and finding a solution everyone can live with.
Take, for example, a situation where two nurses or care partners have different ideas about how to care for a resident.
A good way to resolve this is for both nurses to sit down with someone else to help guide and discuss the conversation.
Each nurse can explain why they think their approach is best, listen to each other, and then work together to devise a plan that incorporates both ideas.
Why is this important? When conflicts are resolved effectively, everyone can return to focusing on their primary job: caring for their residents.
Five Key Strategies for Conflict Resolution in Healthcare
Here are five key strategies for maintaining a positive work environment and ensuring high-quality patient care, along with examples of when to employ each conflict resolution approach.
1. Accommodation
Accommodation in conflict resolution refers to one party yielding to the needs or demands of another, often putting aside their own concerns or preferences.
- Appropriate situations: This strategy is particularly effective in healthcare settings when the issue at hand is more important to one party than the other or when maintaining harmony and relationships is more important than the outcome of the conflict itself.
- Healthcare examples: A nurse may allow a colleague to swap shifts to attend a personal event, understanding the importance of the event to the colleague.
2. Collaboration
Collaboration involves working together to find a solution that fully satisfies all parties’ concerns. It is characterized by open communication and shared decision-making.
- Benefits: This approach resolves the conflict and can lead to innovative solutions and stronger relationships, as it involves mutual respect and understanding.
- Healthcare examples: A team of healthcare professionals from various specialties collaborates to create a comprehensive care plan that addresses all aspects of a patient’s needs.
3. Compromise
Compromise requires each party to give up something of value to reach a mutually acceptable solution. It’s about finding a middle ground.
- Scenarios for use: This strategy is beneficial when time constraints exist, a quick solution is necessary, or when both parties hold equally essential positions or needs.
- Healthcare examples: Two departments agree to share resources during a shortage, each adjusting their schedules and usage to mitigate the impact on patient care.
4. Avoidance
Avoidance involves deliberately avoiding addressing the conflict, either because it’s trivial or because the timing for resolution is inappropriate.
- When suitable: This strategy is suitable when the conflict is minor and engaging in it is likely to cause unnecessary harm or distraction or when more information is needed before an effective resolution can be attempted.
- Drawbacks: Avoidance can lead to unresolved issues festering over time, potentially worsening the situation.
- Healthcare examples: A nurse chooses not to engage in a heated argument over a minor scheduling error, deciding it’s best to discuss it later when both parties are calmer.
5. Competition
Competition as a conflict resolution strategy involves one party pursuing their concerns at the expense of others. This approach is assertive and uncooperative.
- Effective situations: This is useful in high-stakes situations where vital interests are at stake, and one needs to stand firm, such as in emergencies where quick, decisive action is required.
- Short and long-term Implications: While it can provide quick resolutions, it may damage relationships if misused.
- Healthcare examples: A senior doctor insists on a particular treatment plan in an emergency, overriding others due to the urgency and their expert judgment on the matter.
Importance of emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is all about being smart with feelings—yours and others.
It means being able to figure out what you’re feeling and what others are feeling and using that understanding to handle interactions positively.
In healthcare, where emotions can run high, emotional intelligence helps everyone, from doctors to nurses to patients, communicate better and feel more supported.
Five common communication challenges in nursing
Communication is key in a memory care community but can often be tricky, leading to conflicts.
Here are some common issues and solutions, explained in a way that’s easy to understand and relate to:
1. Shift changes
- Issue: Important patient info gets lost when caregivers hand over shifts.
- Solution: Use standardized handoff methods like SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) to ensure everything important is noticed.
2. Team misunderstandings
- Issue: Different caregivers may have conflicting views on handling resident care, leading to confusion.
- Solution: Regular team meetings and clear documentation can help everyone stay on the same page.
3. Communication styles
- Issue: Caregivers often communicate differently, which can lead to misunderstandings.
- Solution: Training on effective communication techniques in healthcare and fostering an environment where all styles are respected can bridge these gaps.
4. Organizational barriers
- Issue: Hierarchical structures and siloed departments can hinder effective communication.
- Solution: Encourage a culture of open communication where staff at all levels feel comfortable sharing information. Regular cross-departmental meetings can also help.
5. Documentation
- Issue: Only incomplete or unclear documentation can lead to mistakes in resident care.
- Solution: Ensure clear and thorough documentation practices are followed.
Start your career at The Kensington Redondo Beach
The Kensington Redondo Beach, an assisted living and memory care community, is known for its commitment to high-quality care and a supportive environment for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Located in the Los Angeles area of Redondo Beach, California, we offer a place where professionals can thrive and truly impact the lives of our residents.
By joining our team, you embrace our promise to love and care for our residents as we do our own family.
Check out our careers page for more information and learn how to land your dream job in healthcare today.