The above scenes are more common than we would like to admit.
Conflict is a basic social interaction process that is part of our daily lives, too.
It results from simultaneously emerging events that are incompatible. The ability to manage conflict is a critical skill that every nurse must possess to be effective on the job. Whenever conflict develops, whether with a boss, subordinate, or peer, it is expected that nurses choose strategies that fit the situation. Unfortunately nurses tend to select approaches that are more often comfortable than effective. A three-hospital survey of nurses revealed that regardless of institutional or demographic characteristics, nurses use avoidance as a primary strategy to resolve conflict.