By Melissa Mills, MHA, BSN, RN
Practical Skills for Conflict Management and Team Collaboration
Your nurse manager allows very little input when creating your workplace schedule. You never have enough staff, and resources are scarce. There are two primary groups of nurses in your unit, and no one likes someone from the other side. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately, workplace challenges are the norm and can impact patient safety, staff morale, and overall organizational efficiency. However, you don’t have to accept these problems as part of your everyday work life. Knowing and utilizing practical strategies for constructive dialogue and problem-solving can improve your situation and that of others in your department.
Let’s review some common workplace issues that happen in healthcare and strategies you can use to navigate the situations and become a proactive problem solver who delivers high-quality care.
Conflict is Common in Healthcare
Healthcare workplaces are known to be at high risk for conflict. Let’s face it—you work in a high-stress, high-stakes environment where life-and-death decisions are part of the gig. You deal with complex communication processes that can be wrought with complications and interdependent processes that can impact everyone on the team. And you can’t forget that staffing shortages and workload imbalances can leave you feeling burnt out, stressed, and looking for relief.
These issues and others can negatively impact your ability to provide holistic, comprehensive, high-quality care that keeps the patient at the center of care delivery. They can also create stress among team members and leave you feeling like you’re in a no-win situation.
However, before you feel overwhelmed, we’ve got great news! You can learn new ways of dealing with common workplace challenges that will elevate your nursing practice through self-awareness. Let’s review a few strategies you can use today!
Strategies for Constructive Dialogue
To be successful in nursing, you must be able to communicate with patients, family members, physicians, other nurses, and many other team members. However, knowing how to talk to people is not enough. You need to be fluent in communication strategies that ensure you know how to have constructive dialogue with many different people and groups. Let’s review four constructive dialogue strategies you can use.
Create Safe Spaces for Communication
Most of the time, you should not conduct stressful conversations in the center of the nursing unit. Instead, choose a neutral, quiet place conducive to long, thoughtful communication. Setting yourself up by selecting the best location for challenging or stressful conversations is the first step to communicating well.
Listen to Understand
Have you ever been talking to someone and felt they were only listening to respond, not understand? This example details the exact opposite of active listening.
When you practice active listening, you take the time to understand others’ perspectives and feelings. You should also maintain eye contact, paraphrase to confirm your understanding and ask clarifying questions when you feel confused or unsure. These strategies require competence, not perfection when you listen actively to others.
Show Respect
Respecting the other party during communication takes intention. You must ensure that communication is clear, concise, and respectful. When you’re in the middle of a difficult conversation, avoid accusatory language and focus on facts, not opinions. These tactics will keep everyone communicating and collaborating in a healthy manner.
Own Your Feelings
Have you ever had someone upset with you who kept using “You” statements to make their point? Maybe they said, “You hurt my feelings,” or “You don’t understand my situation.” Starting statements by blaming the other person is never the best choice.
Instead, use “I” statements. These simple statements help communicate your feelings and take full responsibility for them. Try something like, “I don’t feel heard when we speak,” or “I feel misunderstood,” which can go a long way to getting someone to understand what you need to have a healthy, working relationship with them.
Problem-Solving Approaches
Sometimes, knowing how to communicate well isn’t enough. You must also equip yourself with stellar problem-solving skills that can de-escalate any situation. Let’s cover a few problem-solving approaches you can use.
Work Together
If communication and problem-solving are one-sided endeavors, it will be challenging to resolve the problem. It’s imperative to advocate for a team-based approach to problem-solving so that everyone is on the same page. Once you’ve established the team approach, use brainstorming activities and other strategies to generate multiple possible solutions and weigh the pros and cons of each one.
Reconcile with Harmony
If you’re ready to elevate your problem-solving skills, you must learn various conflict resolution strategies. Start with mediation, a tool you can use to resolve disputes and mend relationships. You can also utilize negotiation strategies where you have a strategic discussion where both parties intend to resolve the issue. Both methods are powerful when used with open communication and the same expectations of the convo.
Follow Processes
Conflicts sometimes fall under specific hospital or facility policies you must follow. Be familiar with the types of disputes that require particular processes so that you can easily use these step-by-step instructions to resolve the problem.
Call for Help
No one wants to jump ahead and escalate problems before you must. However, it’s critical to remember that emotions run high in healthcare workplaces, and this can mean that people might get worked up and not know how to de-escalate themselves or the situation.
Read your employer’s policies to understand how to operationalize a plan to de-escalate violent or unwanted behaviors. Never be afraid to alert the team if you feel unsafe.
Go Forward with Ease
Whether you’re trying to have a non-confrontational dialogue or solve a hard-to-solve problem, we've got you covered. These strategies are all necessary for a positive and supportive workplace culture in nursing and healthcare settings.
If your workplace doesn’t utilize these strategies, share this article with your supervisor and ask for training to help you and your team. Remember, healthcare professionals' ability to overcome challenges isn’t just part of the job; it’s necessary to keep everyone collaborating effectively, safely, and efficiently.
Melissa Mills isn't just a speaker—she's a passionate advocate for nurses and healthcare improvement. She brings a unique blend of hands-on clinical experience and sharp leadership insights to every presentation. Her dynamic style and deep understanding of today's healthcare professionals' challenges and opportunities make her a compelling and engaging speaker. Melissa is on a mission to empower nurses to use their voices to drive positive change within the healthcare system.
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