Nurses and physicians point of view regarding causes of conflict between them and resolution strategies used

Abstract

Nursing is profession based on collaborative relationships with clients or patients and colleagues. Nurses who effectively deal with conflict demonstrating respect for their clients, their colleagues and the profession. This study was aimed at comparing between nurses and physicians point of view regarding causes of conflict between the first party and resolution strategies used. An analytic cross-sectional design was used in this study which was carried out in various medical departments and intensive care units at Ain Shams University Medical Hospital. A convenient sampling method was used to include 132 nurses and 139 physicians in this study. The researcher used two self-administrative questionnaires namely the conflict causes questionnaire and Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument (TKI). Results demonstrates statistically significant differences between nurses and physicians in five out of the seven categories of factors that may cause conflict between them. The accommodative strategy was the most used by both nurses and physicians. The study concluded that the conflict resolution strategy most commonly used by both categories is the “accommodating strategy”. The study recommends that health professionals must develop communication and interpersonal skills and understanding of causes, approaches and strategies of conflict management.