Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena

Abstract

Conflict is an element found in personal and professional life of many people. So, it can become instrumental to recognize and understand causes and effects with the aim to transform a conflict into an opportunity of further development. Increasingly, conflict situations, which are typical of relationships where emotional involvement is high, can end-up in violence against nurses. This thesis aims to provide knowledge and skills that can help to overcome the conflict in a conscious and rewarding way. Conflicts, with their interpersonal and intrapersonal features, are usually triggered by individual, psychic, social, cultural and organizational factors which can lead to the development of consequences that negatively impact a nurse's physical, psychological and professional condition. To mitigate the harmful effects of conflicts, some management strategies are available to improve self-awareness and, consequently, the relationship with others. This analysis was carried out relying on databases, such as RNAO, NICE, CINAHL, One Click, UpToDate, Trip Database, Pubmed, and BiblioMo and Opac SBN catalogues. The sources act as guidelines, evidence-based summaries, primary studies, books. The keywords used were: conflict, nurse-patient relations, moral conflict, interpersonal conflict, nazi-nursing, burn-out, moral distress, ethical conflict, combined with Boolean operator “AND”. This study brings to surface the multidimensional aspect of conflicts which occur in different contexts and are triggered by emotional and thought dynamics that can strongly influence their development, evolution and possible resolution. To prevent the negative escalation of conflicts, for a nurse it is necessary to work on one’s self and develop a relational approach based on collaboration, in order to become a self-confident, reliable and trustworthy professional.