Conflict Engagement and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Coursework Example

Developing negotiation skills in the workplace setting requires an understanding of the conflict and how it impacts patient care and wellbeing. This process supports the continued development of new approaches to manage conflicts effectively and efficiently (Holbrook, 2008). Negotiation skills for nurses are different from those of business professionals in that they involve a unique and highly sensitive setting, where patients and families become involved in the process, making it difficult in some cases to address the concerns effectively.  Many arbitration organizations exist for the sole purpose of managing conflicts through an independent party (Colorado Mediators & Arbitrators, 2014). In some cases, nurses may seek to ignore conflicts altogether through an avoidance strategy, and this supports the necessity to establish different perspectives that will encourage nurses to express their views and to openly communicate with other nurses, patients, and staff members regarding these concerns as they arise (Mahon & Nicotera, 2011). This process will support a constructive approach to managing nurse-based conflicts so that they are addressed in a timely manner to avoid further complications that could harm the nurse-nurse or nurse-patient relationship on a permanent basis (Mahon & Nicotera, 2011).

References

Colorado Mediators & Arbitrators (2014). Homepage. Retrieved from http://coma.com/

Holbrook, J.R. (2008). Negotiating, mediating, and arbitrating physician-patient conflicts. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 51(4), 719-730.

Mahon, M., & Nicotera, A.M. (2011). Nursing and conflict communication: avoidance as preferred strategy. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 35(2), 152-163.

Philipsen, N.C. (2008). Resolving conflict: a primer for nurse practitioner alternatives to litigation. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 766-772.