Trying to meet the demands of and providing service to several competing factions in a dynamic environment can be challenging for perioperative nurses. Each discipline in the OR, including anesthesia personnel, surgical technicians, the surgeon, surgical assistants, and others, focuses on their unique contribution to the patient.
While the team's ultimate goal is a good patient outcome, sometimes immediate individual goals clash. If one member of the perioperative team is demanding or needs more attention than usual, a difference in values arises, or a breakdown in communication occurs, resulting in conflict. It may become necessary to foster effective communication between all team members and support conflict resolution. As perioperative nurses, we practice this on a daily basis.
Putting conflict resolution to use
The art of conflict resolution has received a lot of attention lately. For example, job interviewers may ask behavioral questions such as, "Can you describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer? How did you handle it and what was the outcome?"
The answer can reveal how the applicant handles conflict, his or her conflict management skill level, and how conflict is perceived. There are also entire businesses devoted to the development of methods and techniques for handling conflict and managing difficult customers.
Who are our customers?
While some conflict is good, promoting creative problem-solving and prompting team members to come to a common understanding, unresolved conflict leads to a break in teamwork, creates stress in the workplace, affects staff retention, and can even result in litigation. Ultimately, unresolved conflict detracts from patient care.
Many healthcare journals have featured articles on how to provide service to a difficult customer and resolve conflict. Some of us may limit our definition of 'customer' to the patient. However, expanding this definition to include all the healthcare providers involved, who also have needs and expectations, is more encompassing. As perioperative nurses, we strive to provide excellent service not only to our patients but also to our colleagues on the team.
Take the time to resolve conflict
The perioperative nurse needs to be skilled at man-aging conflict in the OR, an environment that presents unique challenges. In this month's Smart Management column, the author tells us that those who're most successful at conflict resolution know that the first step in holding a productive discussion is to focus on the right issue using CPR-content, pattern, and relationship. Read more about this method of conflict resolution on page 10.
Despite the importance of promoting successful conflict resolution, most nursing curriculums do not offer a course on the topic. Some are naturally better at resolving conflict than others, but I would venture to guess that all of us could benefit from further training and education. I received my first formal education in conflict resolution at the master's level.
Resolving conflict takes time and energy. In a dynamic, stressful environment we are less likely to devote the time to addressing the issues, which only leads to more unresolved conflict. But if we accept that conflict is inevitable and learn how to manage it through effective communication, we foster the ultimate goal of providing and promoting good patient outcomes.
Elizabeth M. Thompson, RN, CNOR, MSN
Editor-in-Chief, Nursing Education Specialist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. [email protected]