CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT & DE-ESCALATION STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
(4 & 8 hour variations)
Public or privately held, for profit or not for profit, life-changing
events occur in all of our hospitals and medical facilities.
People often find themselves thrust into intense personal crisis
for which they are ill prepared. For the average American, hospitals
are often the geographical nexus of tragedy and pain. Hospitals
have become 24/7 communities with thousands of employees and
general public moving through its halls. Whether patient, visitor,
contractor or staff, they all bring, to some degree, their personal
lives with them into the hospital. When those lives are distressed,
external problems can become trouble within hospital walls.
Conflict
too, is a reflection of the human condition. People in crisis
may resort to violence as they process through their experience.
How well hospital staff handles conflict depends on how aware
they are of its various conflict developmental stages. If employees
can identify the conflict issue and determine how far it has
developed, they can often resolve it before it escalates into
physical acts of rage.
The
ability to recognize the early indicators of conflict and aggression,
understand their source and then begin diffusing them is a skill
of profound worth. Unfortunately, aggression is not always avoidable
and knowing the precise actions to take to protect patients,
coworkers and themselves should violence erupt provides employees
with necessary tools to address the hazard of violence in the
workplace.
Hospitals
are generally well prepared and equipped to respond to emergency
incidents within their normal realm of services, trauma and
life-threatening medical conditions. However they, like most
organizations, are often ill prepared to meet incidents of extreme
violence and other disasters that occur within their own walls,
where they or their patients become the targets.
Recognizing and diffusing conflict and aggression requires interpersonal
skills that center on empathy and communication. Employees must
be trained in recognizing the potentially disturbed emotional
state of others and be provided the skills to proactively communicate
– both verbally and non-verbally - in a manner that minimizes
the probability of violence. These skills include familiarity
with:
