Conflict Competence Among Resident Physicians: Knowledge and Perception

Background: The hospital environment is a complex and unpredictable workplace where different providers share the responsibility of patient care. Differences in opinions, values, and experiences between resident physicians and other care team members may trigger conflicts that affect the safety and quality of patient care. Thus, developing conflict competencies may help to negotiate the complexities of different conflict situations and resolve these conflicts. However, the extent of the knowledge and perception of conflict competence among resident physicians remains to be determined.

Methods: A survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews of resident physicians were conducted. Participants were recruited voluntarily. Survey results were analyzed using SPSS 21, and MAXQDA 24 was used to evaluate the interview transcripts with thematic analysis.

Results: Sixty-five resident physicians completed the survey, and 15 resident physicians were interviewed. 61.5% of the survey respondents identified as female, 76.9% were Caucasian, 35.4% of the respondents were from surgical specialties, and 43.1% of the residents were in their second year of training. 53.8% of the participants reported witnessing or experiencing conflicts weekly, with 44.6% reporting resident physician-nurse conflicts. 63.1% of the conflicts were reported as unresolved, with 16.9% reporting that the conflict affected future working relationships, 25.5% of the conflicts were due to failure of communication, 75.4%residents did not have any form of prior training on conflict management, and 83.1% of them reported interest in conflict competence training. Conflicts mainly affected the quality of care (87.3%) compared to patient safety concerns (12.3%). Participants with prior training in conflict competence were more likely to resolve their reported conflict (p = 0.047). The interviews highlighted 5 main themes: sources of conflict, awareness of conflict resolution styles, addressing conflict and outcomes, and the effect on patient care. Sources of conflict included hierarchy and different priorities. 52.2% of the respondents did not know any style of conflict resolution. Addressing conflict included collaboration, avoidance, competition, and prevention. Avoidance was the most common style used by interviewees, followed by collaboration. While most felt that the conflicts affected the quality of patient care, 1 interviewee reported severe adverse events on the patient.

Conclusion: Conflicts are rife in the hospital environment and can affect patient care when unresolved. Resident physicians' knowledge of conflict competence is low and does not reflect the complexity of their working environment. Future training in conflict competence and resolution is warranted.