PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 16448487

Conflict within nursing work environments: concept analysis.

Joan Almost
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

AIM: The aim of this paper is to examine the concept of conflict in nursing work environments using the evolutionary approach to concept analysis. BACKGROUND: In nursing work environments, conflict among nurses is becoming a significant issue resulting in job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, and turnover. Although discussed frequently in the nursing literature, nursing research has focused predominantly on conflict management without first understanding the elements, causes and effects of conflict. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using CINAHL, Proquest, PsychINFO, Social Sciences Index and MEDLINE databases and the keywords conflict and work environment. Articles over the last 25 years from each of these databases were examined to identify major themes, areas of agreement and disagreement across disciplines, changes in the concept over time, and emerging trends. FINDINGS: Conflict is a multidimensional construct with both detrimental and beneficial effects. Most definitions agree that conflict is a process involving two or more people, where a person perceives the opposition of the other. Antecedents stem from individual characteristics, interpersonal factors, and organizational factors. Individual effects, interpersonal relationships, and organizational effects are the main consequences of conflict. A theoretical model of the antecedents and consequences is presented, with implications for further development. CONCLUSIONS: A more thorough understanding of the sources and outcomes of conflict within nursing work environments would enable the prevention of conflict. If properly understood and managed, conflict can also lead to positive outcomes for nurses and healthcare organizations.

Explore related subjects

Attitude of Health PersonnelCommunicationConflict, PsychologicalHumansInterpersonal RelationsInterprofessional RelationsModels, PsychologicalNursing CareOrganizational CultureSocial EnvironmentWorkplaceJournal ArticleReview

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Joan Almost. 2006. Conflict within nursing work environments: concept analysis.. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.03738.x

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2007

In the wake of hospital inquiries: impact on staff and safety.

Mishandled concerns about clinical standards resulted in whistleblowing in four Australian hospitals. Official inquiries followed with recommendations to improve patient safety. In the aftermath of the inquiries, common themes included loss of trust in management and among clinical colleagues, and loss of trust from patients and the community. Without first rebuilding trust, staff will not report mistakes or other concerns about safety. Successful implementation of patient safety procedures requires policies to stress the professional duty of staff to report concerns about colleagues when they believe there is a risk to patients.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2007

Retrieving the ars moriendi tradition.

North Atlantic culture lacks a commonly shared view on dying well that helps the dying, their social environment and caregivers to determine their place and role, interpret death and deal with the process of ethical deliberation. What is lacking nowadays, however, has been part of Western culture in medieval times and was known as the ars moriendi (art of dying well) tradition. In this paper an updated version of this tradition is presented that meets the demands of present day secularized and multiform society. Five themes are central to the new art of dying: autonomy and the self, pain control and medical intervention, attachment and relations, life balance and guilt, death and afterlife. The importance of retrieving the ancient ars moriendi outreaches the boundaries of palliative medicine, since it deals with issues that play a central role in every context of medical intervention and treatment.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗