Case Study: Conflict between Operating Nurse and the Surgeon Background

Like other sets of relationships in healthcare settings, numerous interprofessional conflicts threaten relationships between nurses and physicians. These conflicts complicate the physician-nurse relationship, subsequently affecting healthcare delivery processes. This relationship culminates from numerous factors including personalities and environmental factors. These factors, as pointed out by Ameen (2017), determine whether the relationship outcomes would be negative or positive. Studies have shown that conflicts emanate from gaps in education, training, preparation, competency, gender, miscommunication, misunderstanding, incompatibility and socioeconomic issues. The nurses’ desire to advance their career and undertake greater responsibilities also contribute to conflicts with physicians.

Ameen (2017) noted that the physician-nurse relationship is still a crucial goal of any health organization. El-Hanafy (2018), on the other hand, argued that to gather facts concerning the professional standards and realities, leaders need to test the significance of both the nursing and medical professions. Importantly, leaders need to look into specific issues associated with interprofessional conflicts to identify trigger factors, the parties involved, the consequences and potential resolutions.

Most physician-conflict cases go unnoticed and unreported thus making it hard to resolve. Nurses fail to report incidences of conflict and discrimination for fear of unpleasant repercussions. This paper explores the case of conflict between a physician and a nurse experienced during surgery.

Case study

Physician-nurse conflicts are common in private settings where physicians double up as hospital owners. In private hospitals, nurses are allocated huge workloads since owners are focused on maximizing profits by minimizing operation costs (Collette et al., 2017). Leaders in these facilities rarely give nurses a chance to reenergize or focus on their health and safety. The conflicts between physicians and nurses affect critical health care processes, including surgery.

The case study revolves around a hospital owner who never acknowledged nurses’ role in patient care and other related tasks. Although the hospital management sufficiently compensated the nurses, their treatment was unpleasant. The hospital owner disliked nurses and liked to work with other physicians. These conflicts were creating a challenging environment for nurses.

In the current case, the operating nurse was helping the surgeon in removing parts of the abdominal organs destroyed by cancer in a private hospital. The surgical team had adequately prepared for the task and was waiting for the surgeon. The surgeon was also the owner of the facility. The surgeon arrived late and had little time to prepare. He, therefore, entered the operating room without putting on the sterilized gown. The surgeon witnessed the patient being administered anesthesia.

The operating nurse and the other surgical team members were surprised by the surgeon’s behavior because it contravened the established surgical procedures. The nurse firmly requested the surgeon to get out of the operating room for scrubbing. The surgeon was infuriated that a junior female nurse dared to order him around. The two parties exchanged unpleasant words for a moment and the surgeon ordered that the nurse be changed and threatened to terminate her employment. The other team members did not question the surgeon’s behavior for fear of losing their job.

The operating room incidence was a culmination of poor interactions between the surgeon and the nurses. The humiliation and disrespect by the hospital management left the nurses dejected. However, none of them and other staff members were willing to stand up for the truth.

Resolution

The issues arising from the conflicts between the surgeon and the nurses require mitigation before they get out of hand. Failure to resolve such disputes can affect care quality and patient outcomes. There is a need for interpersonal strategies to empower the nurses and improve their confidence to offer care and interact with other professionals. Any effort to resolve the conflict could go a long way towards promoting interprofessional interactions within the hospital. Surgical operations would likely become tense following the altercation between the operating nurse and the hospital owner.

Reducing this tension requires a mediator. The mediator establishes a safe environment for the conflicting parties to discuss the conflict, the trigger factors and potential agreements.

Fostering agreements, in this case, could help the nurses and the surgeon move forward toward workable solutions. The mediator employs an approach the suits the needs and interests of the parties and the organization best.

References

Ameen, F. (2017). Nurse-physician conflict and power dynamic. JOJ Nursing & Health Care, 5(3), 448-452. http://DOI:10.19080/JOJNHC.2017.05.555665

Collette, A., Wann, K., Nevin, M., Rique, K., Tarrant, G., Hickey, L., ... & Thomason, T. (2017). An exploration of nurse-physician perceptions of collaborative behavior. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 31(4), 470-478. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2017.1301411 El-Hanafy, E. Y. (2018). Nurse physician work-related relationship as perceived by both of them. Egyptian Nursing Journal, 15(2), 188. http://DOI:10.4103/ENJ.ENJ_42_17