Conflict Resolution Strategies for Nurses in Healthcare
This paper examines a recurring interpersonal conflict between a day shift nurse and a night shift nurse in a clinical practice setting. It describes the nature of the conflict, traces its development through the four recognized stages of conflict — anticipation, recognition, strong feelings, and manifestation — and evaluates five conflict resolution strategies: avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromising, and collaboration. Drawing on leadership and management frameworks, the paper argues that collaboration is the most effective approach for resolving workplace conflict in healthcare, as it addresses the needs of all parties, clarifies roles and responsibilities, and protects patient care outcomes. Practical recommendations for nurse leaders and conflict facilitators are also provided.
- Introduction: Why conflict is inevitable and harmful in healthcare
- Description of the Conflict: Day and night shift nurses clash over unfinished tasks
- Type and Stages of Conflict: Interpersonal conflict traced through four sequential stages
- Conflict Resolution Strategies: Five strategies evaluated against the nursing case
- Applying Collaboration in Practice: How collaboration resolves the conflict and nurse leader's role
- Conclusion: Collaboration recommended for current and future conflicts
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper anchors abstract theory in a concrete, realistic clinical scenario, making the discussion of conflict stages and resolution strategies immediately applicable.
- Each of the five conflict resolution strategies is evaluated systematically — with explicit pros, cons, and fit to the specific case — before a recommendation is made, demonstrating analytical rigor.
- The paper maintains a clear throughline: the same scenario introduced at the start is revisited at each analytical stage, creating coherence across sections.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses applied case analysis — grounding a theoretical framework (four stages of conflict; five resolution strategies) in a single observed scenario. This technique allows the writer to move systematically from description to diagnosis to recommendation, showing how textbook concepts translate into real clinical decision-making.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad justification for studying conflict in healthcare, then narrows to a specific observed case. It classifies the conflict type, traces its progression through four sequential stages, evaluates five resolution strategies against the case, and concludes with a targeted recommendation for nurse leaders. The structure follows a problem-analysis-solution arc common in health management writing.
Introduction
Conflicts within the organizational setting are inevitable. Because individuals have different backgrounds, skills, values, beliefs, preferences, priorities, and objectives, conflicts are bound to emerge (Raines, 2012). If not properly handled, conflicts have immense potential to hinder both individual and organizational productivity by deteriorating interpersonal relationships, lowering morale and commitment, and increasing job dissatisfaction (Lawless & Trif, 2016).
Conflicts are particularly evident within the healthcare setting. More specifically, nurses may often clash with physicians or fellow nurses due to, among other factors, confusion about roles, competition between individuals, lack of responsibility and cooperation, and differences in perspectives about care delivery (Finkelman, 2016). If not effectively resolved, conflict within the care delivery setting can negatively affect patients. For instance, conflicts may lead to medical errors, delays in attending to patients, and poor interdisciplinary collaboration, eventually resulting in poor patient outcomes and patient dissatisfaction. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how conflicts within the care delivery setting can be effectively managed. With reference to a conflict observed at the author's practice setting, the paper describes the nature of the conflict, how it has evolved, and strategies for resolving it.
Description of the Conflict
A recurring conflict observed within the author's practice setting involves two nurses: a day shift nurse and a night shift nurse. The day shift nurse is recently recruited, while the night shift nurse has worked at the hospital for a little more than a year. Over the past few days, the relationship between the two nurses has been deteriorating due to what the night shift nurse describes as being overburdened by the day shift nurse. The night shift nurse claims that the day shift nurse has a habit of leaving her tasks unfinished. As a result, the night shift nurse is often compelled to complete those unfinished tasks before embarking on her own, leaving her feeling overworked.
For her part, the day shift nurse has been managing a busier-than-usual day shift. Although she feels remorse for leaving a portion of her work for the night shift nurse, she does not view it as entirely wrong, as she is convinced that nursing is a 24-hour job. A conflict has been developing, and the night shift nurse is approaching her tolerance limit. The day shift nurse, meanwhile, can sense her colleague's unspoken frustration and appears to be waiting for a confrontation. If the conflict escalates, there could be disastrous consequences for patient care, underscoring the need to address it before it worsens.
References
Finkelman, A. (2016). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care. Pearson.
Lawless, J., & Trif, A. (2016). Managing interpersonal conflicts at work by line managers. Irish Journal of Management, 35(1), 74–87.
Raines, S. (2012). Conflict management for managers: Resolving workplace, client and policy disputes. John Wiley & Sons.
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