Conflict Engagement Skill Building for Nurse Residents

The experience of incivility in higher education may influence how well a newly graduated nurse deals with conflict and disruptive behaviors in the workplace. Newly registered nurses frequently report acts of disrespect and destructive conflict. Research has shown that newly registered nurses report high levels of stress and illness after transitioning to practice resulting in 27% to 53% of new graduates leaving their job in the first year of work (Laschinger et al., 2009; Setter et al., 2011). One strategy recommended for supporting new nurses is through the development of conflict skills during nurse residency programs (Dyess & Sherman, 2009; Thomas, 2010). A modified Conflict Engagement program, advocated by the American Nurse Association, was delivered to 45 nurse residents. The program included a 4-hour workshop followed by one-hour monthly meetings termed “Learning Circles” for six months. The Learning Circles provide residents with opportunities to address strong negative emotional responses to conflict (hot buttons) and practice constructive strategies when engaging in conflict. Learning Circles incorporated role modeling, role play, and case studies of conflict situations. The trainers also provided personal consultation to help new nurses address unique conflict situations. Nurse residents easily identified previous experiences of incivility in nursing education, including incivility between nursing staff and nursing students during a clinical rotation. However, in beginning to explore incivility and destructive conflict in the workplace, the residents viewed these behaviors as juvenile. They did not expect to experience incivility as a new nurse. Personal experiences with conflict, particularly generational conflict, emerged as an influencing factor in understanding the value of conflict engagement training. Between the third and fourth Learning Circle a majority of residents began to recognize how their own behaviors influenced the escalation or de-escalation of conflict.