chapter 24 Flashcards
A group of staff nurses is dissatisfied with the new ideas presented by the newly hired nurse
manager. The staff members want to keep their old procedures, and they resist the changes.
Conflict arises from:
a. Group decision-making options.
b. Perceptions of injustice.
c. Increases in group cohesiveness.
d. Debates, negotiations, and compromises.
B
Two staff nurses are arguing about working on holidays. In trying to resolve this conflict,
the nurse manager understands that interpersonal conflict arises when:
a. Risk taking seems to be unavoidable.
b. People see events differently.
c. Personal and professional priorities do not match.
d. The ways in which people should act do not match the ways in which they do act.
B
The nurse manager is aware that conflict is occurring on her unit; however, she is focused
on preparing for a provincial health department visit, so she ignores the problem. A factor
that can increase stress and escalate conflict is:
a. The use of avoidance.
b. An enhanced nursing workforce.
c. Accepting that some conflict is normal.
d. Managing the effects of fatigue and error.
A
The nurse manager decides to use a mediator to help resolve the conflict among staff. Which
of the following is a basic strategy for truly addressing this conflict?
a. Identify the conflicting facts.
b. Be determined to resolve the conflict.
c. Schedule a meeting time for resolution.
d. Have a clear understanding of the differences between the parties in conflict.
D
Ylena, a staff nurse on your unit, witnesses another nurse striking a patient. Ylena wants to
remain friends with her colleague and worries that confrontation with her colleague or
reporting her colleague will destroy their relationship. Ylena is experiencing which type of
conflict?
a. Intrapersonal.
b. Interpersonal.
c. Organizational.
d. Professional.
A
The chief nursing officer plans a series of staff development workshops for the nurse
managers to help them deal with conflicts. The first workshop introduces the four stages of
conflict, which are:
a. Frustration, competition, negotiation, and action.
b. Frustration, conceptualization, action, and outcomes.
c. Frustration, cooperation, collaboration, action, and outcomes.
d. Frustration, conceptualization, negotiation, action, and outcomes.
B
A nursing instructor is teaching a class on conflict and conflict resolution. She relates to the
class that conflict in an organization is important and that an optimal level of conflict will
generate which of the following?
a. Creativity, a problem-solving atmosphere, a weak team spirit, and motivation of its
workers.
b. Creativity, a staid atmosphere, a weak team spirit, and motivation of its workers.
c. Creativity, a problem-solving atmosphere, growth, and motivation for its workers.
d. A bureaucratic atmosphere, a strong team spirit, and motivation for its workers.
C
Jane has transferred from the intensive care unit to the critical care unit. She is very set in
the way she makes assignments and encourages her new peers to adopt this method without
sharing the rationale for why it is better. This is a good example of a process and procedure
that creates ________ conflict.
a. Organizational.
b. Intrapersonal.
c. Interpersonal.
d. Disruptive.
C
Two nurses on a psychiatric unit come from different backgrounds and have graduated from
different universities. They are given a set of new orders from the unit manager. Each nurse
displays different emotions in response to the orders. Nurse A indicates that the new orders
include too many changes; Nurse B disagrees and verbally indicates why. This step in the
process is which of the following in Thomas’s (1992) four stages of conflict?
a. Frustration.
b. Conceptualization.
c. Action.
d. Outcomes.
B
Mrs. Gordon, aged 68, was hospitalized after a stroke. The speech therapist recommended
that oral feeding be stopped because of her dysphagia. During visiting hours, Mr. Gordon
fed his wife some noodles. The nurse noticed this and stopped Mr. Gordon from feeding his
wife, telling him it was the doctor’s decision. An hour later, the nurse returned and found
Mr. Gordon feeding his wife again. The nurse tried to stop him again. Mr. Gordon refused
and claimed that the clinical staff was trying to starve his wife; he also threatened to get
violent with the nurse. The nurse decided to walk away and documented the event in Mrs.
Gordon’s chart. According to Thomas’s (1992) four stages of conflict, in which stage could
the nurse have been more effective?
a. Frustration.
b. Conceptualizing.
c. Action.
d. Outcomes.
C
Jill is the head nurse on a unit in a large hospital. Two of the staff nurses are constantly
arguing and blaming each other for mistakes, and a resolution has not occurred in months.
To solve the existing conflict, which is the most desirable conflict resolution?
a. Avoiding.
b. Competing.
c. Compromising.
d. Collaborating.
D
A nurse educator is giving a workshop on conflict. During the sessions he makes various
statements regarding conflict. All of the following statements are true except:
a. “Conflict can decrease creativity, thus acting as a deterrent for the development of
new ideas.”
b. “Conflict can arise over the most trivial issues.
c. “A variety of definitions of conflict are known.”
d. “All conflicts involve some level of disagreement.”
A
The nurse manager performs his role in a way that he believes empowers his staff; however,
the staff feel smothered by his micromanagement approach. This is a good example of
which of the following conditions that propel a situation toward conflict?
a. Incompatible goals.
b. Role conflicts.
c. Structural conflict.
d. Competition for resources.
A
Kala, a unit manager, in discussing a role the hospital’s chief executive officer would like
her to perform, makes the following statement, “I will sit on the hospital task force on
improving morale if you send me to the hospital’s leadership training classes next week, so I
can further develop my skills and thus be more effective.” Which of the following conflict
management styles is Kala using?
a. Collaborating.
b. Avoiding.
c. Negotiating.
d. Accommodating.
C
Marcus is a circulating nurse in the operating room. He is usually assigned to general
surgery, but on this day he is assigned to the orthopedic room. He is unfamiliar with the
routines and studies the doctor’s preference cards before each patient. The fourth patient
comes into the room, and Marcus prepares a site for a biopsy by using a Betadine solution.
The surgeon prefers another solution. He notices what Marcus has done and immediately
corrects him by rudely insulting him. Which of the following is the most appropriate
approach to conflict resolution in this example?
a. Collaboration.
b. Compromising.
c. Avoiding.
d. Withdraw.
B
