Conflict Management Strategies for Nurse Managers
This paper examines conflict management in nursing, with a focus on Mary Johansen's article "Keeping the Peace: Conflict Management Strategies for Nurse Managers." It explores the most common forms of interpersonal conflict in healthcare settings, including conflicts among nurses, between nurses and physicians, and between nurses and patients or their families. The paper analyzes the five conflict management styles, highlighting nurses' tendency toward avoidance and managers' preference for compromise. It then discusses evidence-based strategies nurse managers can employ — including dialogue, coaching, early identification, interdisciplinary communication, and education — to reduce escalating conflicts and improve patient safety outcomes.
- Introduction: Defines conflict management's importance in nursing
- Overview of Interpersonal Conflict in Nursing: Types and frequency of interpersonal nursing conflicts
- Conflict Management Styles and Patient Outcomes: Five styles, avoidance dominance, and patient safety links
- Strategies for Nurse Managers: Dialogue, coaching, and early identification techniques
- Application to Nursing Practice: Writer's personal plan for managing conflict
- Conclusion: Conflict reduction tied to positive patient outcomes
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper consistently grounds its claims in a single peer-reviewed source, demonstrating focused source analysis rather than superficial citation of multiple texts.
- It moves logically from description of the problem (types of conflict and management styles) to evaluation (impact on patient outcomes) to application (what a nurse manager should do), giving the argument a clear arc.
- The first-person application section connects theory to practice, showing the writer's ability to translate academic content into professional decision-making.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates source synthesis at the sentence level — rather than simply quoting or paraphrasing the article, the writer integrates specific findings (e.g., the five conflict management styles, avoidance as a stress indicator) into a running argument about managerial responsibility. This shows how to use one source to build a cumulative analytical point rather than merely report its contents.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad definition of conflict management in healthcare before narrowing to the Johansen article. A central body section summarizes the article's key findings. A second body section details recommended strategies for nurse managers. A short reflective section applies those strategies to the writer's own future practice. A brief conclusion restates the connection between conflict management and patient outcomes.
Introduction
Conflict management is one of the most important aspects of a healthcare system, given the significant impact that conflicts have on the effectiveness of nurses and other healthcare professionals. Conflict manifests in different ways, including interpersonal conflict between nurses, conflict between a nurse and a patient or the patient's family, and conflict between a nurse and a professional working in a different discipline. It is therefore important for the nurse manager to possess the skills necessary not only to identify conflicts at an early stage but also to ensure that appropriate measures are taken before a situation escalates.
This paper examines the concept of conflict management by focusing on interpersonal conflict as addressed in "Keeping the Peace: Conflict Management Strategies for Nurse Managers" by Mary Johansen.
Overview of Interpersonal Conflict in Nursing
The article argues that effective resolution of a dispute in a nursing setting requires an understanding of the disagreement and clear communication between the involved parties. Interpersonal conflicts are the most common type and typically involve the patient and the patient's family, the nurse manager, and physicians. Interpersonal conflict with professional peers — including physicians and other individuals — was found to be especially common in acute care environments. Among the five conflict management styles identified in the literature, the article argues that nurses tend to prefer the avoidance approach when managing interpersonal conflict, while compromise is the dominant conflict management style among managers.
Conflict Management Styles and Patient Outcomes
Patient outcomes may depend significantly on how well conflict is managed. The avoidance conflict management style typically adopted by nurses signals stress in relationships with seniors and peers and may indicate work-related stress affecting the nurse. Work-related stress is recognized as one of the causes of poor patient outcomes, including medication errors and patient falls. By contrast, more proactive conflict management approaches are associated with a healthier work environment and improved team performance, both of which contribute to safer patient care.
Conclusion
A strong connection exists between effective conflict management among healthcare employees and positive patient outcomes. This means that conflicts must be minimized in the healthcare setting. It is the responsibility of the nursing manager to develop policies and programs that help reduce the number of workplace conflicts. Interdisciplinary communication remains one of the most effective tools available to nurses and other professionals for navigating conflict and sustaining a collaborative, patient-centered environment.
References
Johansen, M. L. (2012). Keeping the peace: Conflict management strategies for nurse managers. Nursing Management, 43(2), 50–54.
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