The "Closed" Case

Watch the following video about a conflict that happens between medical team members in an operating room. We will revisit this case throughout the module. (1:18)

Importance of Diagnosing Conflict

Conflict is a common occurrence in healthcare settings. In a large study, 70% percent of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) workers reported conflict with the majority of the conflict being intrateam and not with patients or family (Azoulay et al., 2009). Additionally, between one and four conflicts occur during each operation. Conflict affects team function, job satisfaction, contributes to reduced quality of care, and can produce harmful patient outcomes.

Therefore, diagnosing and resolving conflict is essential. Doctors & Nurses prefer to solve conflict with informal methods, meaning they do not want to include an expert mediator (Azoulay et al., 2009). Knowing that Doctors and Nurses prefer to solve conflict informally should lead to more training in the area; however, most training programs do not include training in conflict management. Health professionals often say, “I never learned about any of this in my training, and yet it’s a skill I need almost daily”.

Additionally, many providers are in leadership roles and do not necessarily understand how their role can both positively and negatively affect conflict outcomes.