Role Conflict and the Nurse, Part III
As nurses continue to work in multidisciplinary teams, it is imperative to develop effective communication skills for the timely delivery of quality patient care. It is also necessary for nurses to have realistic expectations regarding what they can accomplish and when to seek help. Administrators and managers are in ideal position to role model the benefits of effective communication as well as to be able to provide staff support in developing these skills.
Nurses prefer a consistent working environment in which there is a formal chain of command, mechanisms to guide their daily work (e.g., policies and procedures), and recognition and rewards for their work efforts. In nursing, insufficient staffing, heavy patient workloads, and patient safety concerns have all been recognized as universal problems for nurses and the health care system that lead to role overload and burnout in nurses.
Essentially, nurses want and need sufficient resources to accomplish their work. Managers and administrators are optimally positioned to openly communicate with staff about how to best provide a safe and rewarding work environment. The strategies discussed provide a basis for testing and evaluating approaches to reducing role conflict and ultimately enhancing job satisfaction and retention among nurses and nursing assistants.