Background:
“The passions are the same in every conflict, large or small.” Mason Cooley, PhD.
Physicians encounter conflict (both internal and external) no less frequently than others in society. Whether the conflict is with other members of the healthcare team, our patients, our patients’ families, or ourselves, both the conflict itself and our reactions to it have the potential to impact the care we offer our patients. Reflecting on conflicts in which you were engaged during your core clerkship rotations, your reactions to it, and your perceptions of how other members of the healthcare team, your patient, and their family reacted to it, is the first step in helping us to better respond to these situations in the future.
Assignment (submit papers in Sakai under the Assignments Tab):
Reflect on a patient care experience in which the conflict of which you were a part[i] had an impact on the care delivered to your or your team’s patient(s). Include a description of the patient care experience, including pertinent background information. In your writing, include the following:
- Describe the situation. Set the stage and be specific to help the reader more fully appreciate the context in which the conflict occurred and the lead up to the conflict itself.
- Examine how you reacted to the conflict and in what ways it impacted your interaction with your patient, their family, support staff, colleagues, residents, and/or faculty.
- Discuss whether this was how you thought you would react in such a situation. How have you reacted to similar situations in the past? Have you attempted to implement strategies to help you with similar challenges in the future? If so, have they been helpful?
- Analyze the impact this conflict and your reaction to it had on the care your patient received. (NOTE: this MUST include the impact your reaction to this conflict had on the care you delivered. It may also include your perception of how the conflict impacted the way others on the team cared for the patient).
- Describe the insights you gained about yourself through reflecting on this experience and how you think it will impact your practice of medicine in the future.
[i] This conflict may be external (with someone else) or internal (with yourself)
Objectives:
By the end of the small group session on “Conflict”, students will demonstrate the ability to:
- Identify situations during their core clerkship rotations during which they experienced internal or external conflict.
- Examine the impact of this conflict on the way they interacted with and cared for their patients.
- Reflect on the cognitive and/or affective insights gained from this experience.
- Consider the implications of this experience for how they will deal with conflict in the future.
