When Nurses Don't Wanna Go There: Resolving Conflicts (Personal & Financial Health‪)‬

Every conflict we face in life is rich with positive and negative potential. It can be a source of inspiration, enlightenment, learning, transformation, and growth--or rage, fear, shame, entrapment, and resistance. The choice is not up to our opponents, but to us, and our willingness to face and work through them. (Cloke, Goldsmith, 2000) (i). Asking for a raise. Shift to shift relationships. Giving a critical performance review. Saying no to a co-worker in need. Confronting disrespectful or inappropriate behavior. Disagreements during staff meetings. Sometimes nurses just don't wanna go there. This begs the question, why do well-intentioned and intelligent people often fail to create the cultures of resolving conflicts through collaboration. Even though we have seen a revolution in new communication and collaborative technologies, resolving conflicts through collaboration on nursing teams often remains an aspiration rather than a reality. If we could calculate the total amount of time, energy, money, and resources wasted on unresolved conflicts--the relationships we destroy, the decreased productivity from time spent in gossip, absenteeism, illness and poor morale the total would be staggering. The following statistics recently caught my attention for more than a few minutes.