Relationship between how nurses resolve their conflicts with doctors, their stress and job satisfaction

BACKGROUND: A significant source of stress in nursing is conflict with physicians. There is evidence in the published literature that different ways of resolving conflicts generate more or less stress for those involved. AIM: This research examines what tactics nurses adopt to resolve conflicts with doctors and how the different tactics affect their level of stress and job satisfaction. METHOD: Seventeen nurses of varying seniority answered four questionnaires. RESULTS: The integrating and dominance approaches to conflict resolution are associated with low occupational stress levels, whereas the obliging and avoidance approaches are linked to higher stress. There is evidence that the seniority and status of nurses affect both their choice of conflict-resolution tactics and the associated stress and job satisfaction levels. CONCLUSION: Both nurses and physicians should be made more aware of the conflicts between them and better trained to understand how they can be constructively resolved.