ASSIGNMENT Week 4– Conflict Management Paper  

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) states, “Conflict that is managed effectively by nurses can lead to personal and organizational growth. If conflict is not managed effectively, it can hinder a nurse’s ability to provide quality client care” (CNO, 2009, p.3).  The purpose of this scholarly paper is for each student to examine an aspect of conflict.

ASSIGNMENT Week 4 – Scholarly Paper

OVERVIEW

Nursing is a profession that is based on collaborative relationships with clients and colleagues. When two or more people view issues or situations from different perspectives, conflict may result and if not effectively managed, may compromise the relationship. Conflict refers to a power struggle in which a person intends to harass, neutralize, injure or eliminate a rival.

Conflict is commonly perceived as being a negative issue. However, the experience of dealing with conflict can lead to positive outcomes for nurses, their colleagues, and clients. Conflict that is managed effectively by nurses can lead to personal and organizational growth. If conflict is not managed effectively, it can hinder a nurse’s ability to provide quality client care and potentially escalate into violence and abuse. Because of this, nurses need to be aware of ways in which conflict can escalate and be prepared to prevent and manage it in the workplace.

While conflict is an inherent part of nursing, the provision of professional services to clients does not include accepting abuse. In addition, conflict among colleagues can lead to antagonistic and passive-aggressive behaviours (such as bullying or horizontal violence) that compromise the therapeutic nurse-client relationship.  Nurses who effectively deal with conflict demonstrate respect for their clients, their colleagues and the profession. The Entry-to-practice Competencies for Ontario Registered Practical Nurses (2014) states that a nurse “demonstrates knowledge of conflict-resolution skills” (p.6).  When nurses plan, apply, evaluate and improve conflict-resolution skills (CNO, 2014) and mitigate conflict, they contribute to the health of nurses, a healthy work environment, quality patient outcomes and organizational efficiency (RNAO, 2012).

TOPICS FOR THE PAPER:

·         Students should choose one of the following topics for their paper. You may select an alternate topic with the approval of your instructor.

·         Interpersonal conflict in healthcare

·         Communication and conflict

·         Interprofessional conflict

·         Intraprofessional conflict

·         Horizontal violence

·         Workplace violence

GUIDELINES

·         Write a scholarly paper about one of the topics listed above.

·         This is an individual assignment and will be submitted via email to terri.burton@georgiancollege.ca

·         The paper should be between three(3)  to five (5) pages in length (not including title page and reference list).

·         APA format  using Cites and Sources (2018)

·         Paper must be supported by relevant, scholarly research

o   Mandatory resources:

§  Scholarly articles - Use a minimum (you can use more) of four (4) scholarly articles (review criteria for Scholarly Journal). 

§  College of Nurses of Ontario Practice Guideline Conflict Prevention and Management [#47004] is a required resource for this paper

o   Optional resources:

§  Maximum one (1) textbook and maximum one (1) non-scholarly source (newspaper, editorial) permitted. You may choose not to use either of these resources.

This paper will be graded following the Practical Nursing Program GRADING STANDARDS FOR SCHOLARLY PAPERs (see course pack). This is not an email assignment. Your paper will not be graded if handed in via email or a hard copy in class.

EXPECTATIONS

·         The paper will focus on the theory and application of conflict resolution strategies specific to healthcare and nursing.

·         Select one of the topics listed above and focus on this aspect of conflict in healthcare.  Do not try to cover all aspects of conflict in the scope of this paper.

·         Provide a definition of the topic you selected.

·         Discuss factors that contribute to this type of conflict in healthcare.

·         Describe strategies to both prevent and mitigate this conflict.

·         Discuss resources available to nurses to assist with resolution of conflict related to your topic.

·         Analyze what you have learned about conflict resolution and discuss how you will personally apply this in your nursing practice for successful negotiation and resolution.

CONFLICT PAPER CRITERIA

¬This paper will be graded following the Practical Nursing Program GRADING STANDARDS FOR SCHOLARLY PAPERs (see course pack pages 5-6). 

RUBRIC

ASSIGNMENT 3 – SCHOLARLY PAPER RUBRIC

STUDENT NAME: _____________________________________________ GRADE: ____ /20

¬This paper will be graded following the Practical Nursing Program GRADING STANDARDS FOR SCHOLARLY PAPERS (see course pack).

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: