An evaluation conflict resolution skills on the burnout levels of nurses working in emergency and intensive care units

Conflict emerges, is perceived and recognized as incompatible behaviours arising from oppositions, disputes or interventions. Burnout is defined as physical and emotional collapse resulting from the working conditions. Professionals in health institutions, especially nurses, are in high risk group in terms of experiencing conflict and burnout. Within the health institutions, intensive care and emergency care units which experience conflict and burnout most intensively, should be particularly examined. This study which is descriptive in nature was done with a view to identifying and exploring the relationship between the burnout and conflict resolution skills of nurses who were working in three different hospitals in Adana. The data were collected between 01.01.2014 and 30.01.2014. Ethic Committee approval was obtained from the hospital before the study was conducted. The participants were 283 nurses working in the intensive care and emergency care units. The data were collected through the Identification Form which identified the participants' demographic characteristics, Conflict Resolution Skills Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS 19.0 software package programming. Average age of the nurses was found 29.8±6.2 years. Of all the participants, 81% were female; and average working hours in a week was 48 hours. The most frequently used conflict resolution method by nurses was found the integration method. Male nurses were found to use compliance method more frequently than female nurses (p=0,016). Staff nurses used consensus method more frequently than contract nurses (p=0,034). The nurses participating in the study were found to experience moderate burnout. The nurses working in intensive care units were found to feel more decrease in their personal success than the nurses working in emergency care units (p=0,001). There was a slight relationship between burnout levels and conflict resolution methods used by nurses. The study has provided suggestions for reducing nurses' burnout levels and developing conflict resolution skills. Key Words: Conflict, conflict resolution, nurses and burnout