Conflict dynamics and management patterns of student nurses in governement hospitals in Adamawa state, Nigeria / Dinâmica de conflito e padrões de gestão de enfermeiras estudantes em hospitais do governo do estado de Adamawa, Nigéria

Abstract

The complexities associated with healthcare centres have made conflict a part and parcel of their operational milieus. Student nurses on formal clinical training, being part of the system, are not resistant to the deleterious outcomes of such conflicts. Thus, this is study assessed conflict dynamics and management strategies of student nurses in government hospitals in Adamawa State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted and a sample of 160 student nurses was selected through random sampling technique. A self-structured questionnaire titled “Student Nursing Conflict Questionnaire” (SNCQ) was used to elicit primary data. Data collected were analysed with frequency counts, percentage and standard deviation. The study discovered that the majority of student nurses frequently encountered conflict (50.6%) in hospitals and they often perceived it as something bad (70.6%). Also, the major types of conflict often experienced by student nurses were “nurse-student nurse conflict” (NSC) (36.9%) and “patient relatives-student nurse conflict” (PRSC) (36.9%). The main causes of these conflicts were lateness to the hospital ( = 3.375) and unclear definition of responsibilities between student nurses and other auxiliary health workers ( = 3.338). Furthermore, the main consequences of conflict on student nurses were lowering their productivity ( = 3.550) and discouraging effective training of student nurses ( = 3.569). The conflict management styles often adopted by student nurses were collaborating style ( =3.153) and accommodating style ( =3.025). Based on these findings, it was recommended that medical peace education should be promoted in all ramifications in health establishments in order to help those that wish to become health practitioners such as student nurses as well as those already practicing in the field to understand conflict behavioural dynamics for constructive mitigation to enhance their productivity and healthcare service delivery.