Instead of choosing a strategy based on comfort level, nurses need to use the appropriate strategy to effectively and positively achieve beneficial outcomes. Choosing a Strategy Strategies for resolving conflict include competition, accommodation, avoidance, collaboration, and cooperation. Each method can be appropriate in different situations. Accommodation is a lose-win strategy that can be used when preserving relationships, being reasonable, or encouraging others to express themselves and learn by their actions. For example, in a situation where two team leaders have to decide which team should get the extra nurse, one leader might concede to the other, upon complete evaluation of the situation.
Competition is a win-lose approach.
In some cases, it might be the only strategy that will achieve necessary change, as in the emergency situation described earlier. In an emergency, especially when a life is at stake, there is no time to negotiate disagreements between team members. When other reasonable strategies have failed, someone has to take charge and direct the team without disruptive discussions. Avoidance, a lose-lose technique, can also be used effectively in certain cases. After that heated exchange with the physician, as in the earlier scenario, a nurse might choose to ask a colleague to make rounds with the physician until enough time passes for both parties to cool down.