Poorly managed conflict and unresolved
conflict have an influence
on individuals, organizations, and,
most importantly, patient outcomes.
In July 2008, The Joint Commission
issued a Sentinel Event Alert suggesting
that poor communication,
lack of teamwork, and ineffective
management of conflict among
health professionals are top contributors
to sentinel events.One
study found that the avoidance
conflict management style independently
predicted stress with peers
and problems with supervisors.19
This has ominous implications for
both the nurse and the patient because
the avoidance conflict management
style has been associated
with increased levels of work stress,
which has been linked to negative
patient outcomes such as medication
errors, I.V. errors, patient falls,
and reduced quality and efficacy
of care.