Conflict management styles of nurses at all india institute of medical sciences, New Delhi, India

Abstract

Background: Conflict is an inevitable and integral part of any work environment including nursing. Unresolved conflicts among nurses may lead to increased errors in patient care, affect their morale, and even increase turnover. Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the conflict-handling styles practiced by newly joined nursing staff working in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on newly joined 297 nurses. Standardized Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument was used to collect the data. Nurses were asked to give answers that characterized their dominant response in a conflict situation. Results: A total of 34.7% nurses used accommodating style for conflict management whereas 30.3% used collaborating style. It was followed by compromising, competing, and avoiding styles of conflict management. Conclusion: There is a need to enhance nurses' conflict management skills which in long run may lead to improvement in the quality of work as well as job satisfaction among nurses.

Keywords

• assessment
• conflict
• conflict management styles
• nurses