Conflict Issues Among Inter-professional Teams

/in /by

Conflict Issues Among Inter-professional Teams

As a health care leader, you may find yourself at times in conflict with your colleagues, as well as all levels of interprofessional teams. According to the textbook, it is essential for health care leaders to be proactive and communicate expectations clearly. What can you put into place proactively to diminish conflict and increase communication? How does this help the interprofessional team focus on providing excellent performance?  Conflict Issues Among Inter-professional Teams

Increasingly, primary health care teams (PHCTs) depend on the
contributions of multiple professionals. However, conflict is
inevitable on teams. This article examines PHCTs members’
experiences with conflict and responses to conflict. This
phenomenological study was conducted using in-depth interviews with 121 participants from 16 PHCTs (10 urban and 6

ORDER A PLAGIARISM – FREE PAPER NOW

rural) including a wide range of health care professionals. An
iterative analysis process was used to examine the verbatim
transcripts. The analysis revealed three main themes: sources
of team conflict; barriers to conflict resolution; and strategies
for conflict resolution. Sources of team conflict included: role
boundary issues; scope of practice; and accountability. Barriers
to conflict resolution were: lack of time and workload; people
in less powerful positions; lack of recognition or motivation to
address conflict; and avoiding confrontation for fear of causing
emotional discomfort. Team strategies for conflict resolution
included interventions by team leaders and the development
of conflict management protocols. Individual strategies
included: open and direct communication; a willingness to find
solutions; showing respect; and humility. Conflict is inherent in
teamwork. However, understanding the potential barriers to
conflict resolution can assist PHCTs in developing strategies to
resolve conflict in a timely fashion.
Keywords: Interprofessional teamwork; primary health care; Conflict Issues Among Inter-professional Teams
conflict; conflict resolution; phenomenology.

INTRODUCTION
Conflict in interprofessional teams is not a new
phenomenon. Over the last 30 years there have been
numerous publications describing conflict between professional dyads such as physicians and nurses, social workers
and nurses, family therapists and family doctors, and
social workers and physicians (Abramson & Mizrahi,
1996; Hendel, Fish, & Berger, 2007; Kriesel & Rosenthal,
1986; Lowe & Herranen, 1978; Rosenstein & O’Daniel, 2005;
Zwarenstein & Reeves, 2002). The majority of these studies
have been in tertiary care settings with relatively few
conducted in primary health care settings. The demands
and expectations on primary health care teams (PHCTs)
differ from specialty teams, such as stroke rehabilitation or
oncology were care plans can be very disease specific and the
role of team members more clearly delineated (Baxter &
Brumfitt, 2008; Penson, Kyriakou, Zuckerman, Chabner, &
Lynch, 2006). Interprofessional teamwork in health care is a
complex enterprise and is perhaps more so in primary health
care were the patient care needs are not only complex but
diverse, ranging from cradle to grave. Thus, it is important to
identify the sources of conflict and means to address conflict
on PHCTs Conflict Issues Among Inter-professional Teams