Healthcare is comprised of players from diverse fields and backgrounds. Collaboration between patients, family, coworkers, employer, and employee is crucial for improved service delivery. The use of dispute resolution mechanisms and programs has been developed to inject hope into hospitals and clinics. Through enhanced teaching and training, health workers will be at a better position to handle patients, co-workers, family and employer.
Through provision of training and education for health care professionals such as educational forums for licensed providers cultivates a platform for more intense learning outside the clinical environment. Continuity education is conducted in conferences, workshops, CE centers. Additional education can be conducted within the clinical setting through grand rounds, staff meetings, human resource department programs, leadership development courses, internal newsletters, websites and journals. Communication skills are the main area of target since communication is paramount to understanding patient’s experiences and better services.
Healthcare providers taken through dispute resolution mechanisms equip them with skills to identify and analyze problems. Simple analogies during facilitated sessions on analyzing a problem, developing a strategy, locating resources and implementing plans equips clinicians and other healthcare providers with concepts associated with conflict management. The skills used to take care of patients can be utilized to resolve conflicts and negotiate effectively. For instance patient caring steps include assessment, diagnosis of the disease, treatment plan, treatment evaluation and plan modification. The same process can be undertaken in conflict resolution. Most conflict resolution mechanisms fail because of failure to apply the same processes to dispute resolution. Jumping straight to diagnosis and treatment of the conflict leads to inconsistent practices. Failure to assess the nature of the conflict is a major impediment to solving it. Better practices can be adopted by putting healthcare professionals through communication skills and problem analysis training.
References
(ASHRM), A. S. (2011). Risk Management Handbook for Health Care Organizations, 3 Volume Set. John Wiley & Sons.
Platt, A. W. (2008). Conciliation in Healthcare: Managing and Resolving Complaints and Conflict. Radcliffe Publishing.
