Teaching operating room conflict management to surgeons: clarifying the optimal approach

Abstract

There are a number of behaviours that activate conflict transformation in the OR team and a conflict management education programme should include a description of and alternatives to these behaviours. The types of conflict are tightly interwoven in this setting and thus the most appropriate management strategy is one that assumes that both types of conflict will exist and should be managed actively.

Conflict, styles of conflict resolution, stress and job satisfaction amongst veterinary healthcare workers in clinical settings

“…Individuals who feel frustrated or angry with other members of their group may dispute the ideas of those members, simply because angry people tend to be less agreeable. The complexity perspective appears to be better than the separation perspective in an operating room setting (Rogers, 2011) and likely is superior in most situations of solving complex, non-routine problems.…”

“…Examples of task conflict are conflicts about the distribution of resources, procedures and policies, and judgments and interpretation of facts (De Dreu C. a., 2003). In a study of conflict in operating rooms , the most common, specific, task-related sources of conflict were related to equipment needs and scheduling (Rogers, 2011 ). The most common positive consequence of task-related conflict was improved working efficiency.…”

“…Negative consequences included an increase in mistakes made, an increase in the time required to perform tasks and a decrease in the contribution of team members towards the completion of a task (Rogers, 2011 ).…”

“…Examples of relationship conflict are conflicts about personal taste, political preferences, values, and interpersonal style (De Dreu C. a., 2003). Relationship-related sources of conflict in the operating room include bad moods or attitudes, rudeness and inexperience (Rogers, 2011 ). It appears to always (Pearson, 2002) or almost always (Rogers, 2011) be negative, although others (Pelled, Eisenhardt, & Xin, 1999) found no relationship between increased relationship conflict and poor outcomes.…”

“…Relationship-related sources of conflict in the operating room include bad moods or attitudes, rudeness and inexperience (Rogers, 2011 ). It appears to always (Pearson, 2002) or almost always (Rogers, 2011) be negative, although others (Pelled, Eisenhardt, & Xin, 1999) found no relationship between increased relationship conflict and poor outcomes. Some of these contradictory results can be explained by different definitions used by various researchers.…”