Conflict Management Style, Communication Competence, and Collaboration among Hospital Nurses and Physicians / 재활간호학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify the relationship among conflict management style, communication competence and nurse-physician collaboration in hospital nurses and physicians. METHODS: This is a descriptive study. Using a questionnaire, data were collected from 230 nurses and 107 physicians at a university hospital in D city. With SPSS/WIN 22.0 program, data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Physicians scored the highest for communication competence in nurse-physician relationship and the lowest in medical decision making, while nurses scored the highest in patient information sharing and the lowest in nurse-physician relationship. Physicians with problem solving tendency scored higher in communication competence than those with avoiding tendency. Among the nurses, those with avoiding tendency scored the lowest. For both physicians and nurses, communication competence showed a significant negative correlation with avoidance. For nurses there was also a significant positive correlation with compromising tendency. Finally, there was a significant correlation between nurse-physician collaboration and communication competence in both groups. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that nurse-physician collaboration and communication competence are correlated with conflict management style. We suggest educational programs at more hospitals in various locations to improve nurse-physician collaboration reflecting conflict management style.