Exam 8: Communication and Conflict

The head nurse and a staff nurse are having a conflict over how to use and apply a new procedure for dressings in the medical/surgical area.The staff nurse wishes to use the new procedure based on newly released nursing research.The head nurse wishes to use a protocol that has been used in the department for a number of years.The head nurse later makes comments to other staff on her unit about the credibility of the staff nurse.This behavior is associated with:

The nurse manager is aware that conflict is occurring on her unit; however, she is focused on preparing for a state health department visit, so she ignores the problem.What factor can increase stress and escalate conflict?

A nurse educator is giving a workshop on conflict.During the sessions, he makes various statements regarding conflict.All of the statements are true except:

Sarah, a staff nurse on your unit, witnesses another nurse striking a patient.Sarah wants to remain friends with her colleague and worries that confrontation with her colleague or reporting her colleague will destroy their relationship.Sarah is experiencing which type of conflict?

Factors that influence the ease with which conflict is resolved include all except which of the following?

Nurses entering the work force today are faced with which of the following relationships that could create organizational conflict? (Select all that apply.)

Two nurses on a psychiatric unit come from different backgrounds and have graduated from different universities.They are given a set of new orders from the unit manager.Each nurse displays different emotions in response to the orders.Nurse A indicates that the new orders include too many changes; Nurse B disagrees and verbally indicates why.This step in the process is which of the following in Thomas' stages of conflict?

The nurse manager decides to use a mediator to help resolve the staff's conflict.A basic strategy for truly addressing this conflict is to:

Which of the following exemplifies the predominant conflict management style of nurse managers?

A group of staff nurses is dissatisfied with the new ideas presented by the newly hired nurse manager.The staff wants to keep their old procedures, and they resist the changes.Conflict arises from:

Staff at Valley Hospital are concerned that recent staffing cuts will affect their ability to provide quality patient care, and they express their concerns to senior management.The CEO of Valley Hospital makes the following statement: "We need to contain costs because our funding has been decreased." This is a good example of which of the following conditions that propel a situation toward conflict?

In trying to achieve Magnet status, the chief nursing officer establishes a shared governance model to help nurses experience job satisfaction.However, some nurses who have enjoyed working with less autonomy resist this change and begin to criticize and make rude comments about managers who embrace this model, as well as colleagues who support it.The comments are largely ignored because those who are making them are well established nurses who are often vocal about their displeasure with the organization.Organizational conflict is arising from which of the following?

Lee, the head nurse in ER, has attempted to meet Jillian, one of her staff RNs, for several days to discuss concerns about Jillian's relationships with her team members.Lee hopes to offer Jillian coaching so that Jillian's relationships can be more satisfying for Jillian and her team members.Each time Lee and Jillian set a time to meet, Jillian phones in sick.In this situation, Lee and Jillian are demonstrating:

Mrs.Hill, aged 68, was hospitalized after a stroke.The speech therapist recommended that oral feeding be stopped because of her dysplasia.During visiting hours, Mr.Hill fed his wife some noodles.The nurse noticed this and stopped Mr.Hill from feeding his wife, telling him it was the doctor's decision.An hour later, the nurse returned and found Mr.Hill feeding his wife again.The nurse tried to stop him again.Mr.Hill refused and claimed that the clinical staff was trying to starve his wife; he also threatened to get violent with the nurse.The nurse decided to walk away and documented the event in Mrs.Hill's chart.According to Thomas' four stages of conflict, in which stage could the nurse have been more effective?

Two staff nurses are arguing about whose turn it is to work on the upcoming holiday.In trying to resolve this conflict, the nurse manager understands that interpersonal conflict arises when:

The chief nursing officer plans a series of staff development workshops for the nurse managers to help them deal with conflicts.The first workshop introduces the four stages of conflict, which are:

Jill is the head nurse on a unit in a large hospital.Two of the staff nurses are constantly arguing and blaming each other, and a resolution has not occurred in months.To solve the existing conflict, which is the most creative conflict resolution?

After using a mediator to resolve a conflict between the nurse manager and two staff nurses, the chief nursing officer decides to:

A nursing instructor is teaching a class on conflict and conflict resolution.She relates to the class that conflict in an organization is important, and that an optimal level of conflict will generate:

Sarah is a nurse manager in a surgical unit.She is concerned about a conflict between Lucy (a staff nurse) and one of the maintenance personnel.Sarah explains to Lucy that unsatisfactory resolution of the conflict is typically destructive and will result in: