A comparison of what you have learned from the case study to related theories you have studied.

A comparison of what you have learned from the case study to related theories you have studied.

A comparison of what you have learned from the case study to related theories you have studied.

Several theories regulate nursing practice. While the majority of the nursing theories define how nurses relate and interact with their patients, nurses can also apply the theories to determine how to relate with other nursing professionals and care providers in their work environment. In the nursing profession, the various care providers involved have different levels of qualifications and experience in practice, affecting how they can relate. The differences in the level of qualification are usually likely to cause some conflict since the higher the level of education an employee has, the higher the chances of attaining higher ranks in an organization (McEwen & Wills, 2014). For example, Natalie and Susan, and Pam have different education levels, which makes Natalie seen as a threat to their job, which led to a hard time for Natalie when interacting with the two nurses.

Conflict theory is among the theories the nurse uses to resolve the situation. Previously, I used to view conflict theory as being applicable to situations where arguments due to different opinions, objectives, or views were present. However, I have learned that the theory can be applied to situations such as Natalie’s where inequalities, such as education, cause one party to attack the other. Related to the two theories that the nurses used are the stress theories. Stress theories include Selye’s general adaptation syndrome and Lazarus’s stress and coping adaptation theory. The stress theories are used to explain the effects of stress on individuals and how people are likely to react to different events. General adaptation syndrome has three stages that a person goes through, including the alarm phase, where the person becomes aware of the stressful event or conflict; the immediate response to this response is either fight or flight (McEwen & Wills, 2014).

The second phase is resistance, where the individual enters a repair mode after flight or fight; this phase is characterized by frustration and increases irritability. The third stage is exhaustion, where if the cause of stress is not eliminated, the person becomes exhausted, and they no longer have the strength to fight the cause of the stress. At this phase, a person exhibits fatigue and burnout, and a majority are likely to give up. The stress theories apply to Natalie’s case because as a new nurse with a master’s degree, she interacts with two nurses with only ADN degrees. However, due to their 10-year experience, they seem to know more than her which creates a conflict that stresses Natalie. Luckily, she realizes it, and in the resistance phase, she seeks help from a professor and successfully deals with the source of conflict (McEwen & Wills, 2014).

A comparison of the case study to your nursing practice.

In my practice, I have also encountered a conflict between nurses. In this case, the nurse was new from another healthcare; during her duty, she had been instructed to administer medication to a patient; however, she was not satisfied with the instructions provided. So, she decided to confirm with the physician, but the physician misinterpreted the inquiry as insubordination which led to a public reprimand. The event created a hostile environment between the two which was later resolved using the conflict theory. Using the theory, the charge nurse facilitated a meeting between the physician and the new nurse, where she explained the intentions of the inquiry, and the two resolved the negative feelings towards each other (McEwen & Wills, 2014).

References

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. (2014) Theoretical basis for nursing (Fourth ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolter Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams &Wilkins.