Conflict Resolution in Emergency Medicine

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2002

Abstract

Conflict is ubiquitous in medicine. However, features unique to the specialty of emergency medicine make it especially prone to conflict. Emergency physicians serve on the front lines and interact with individuals from all areas of health care. Often, diversity in training, experience, and perspective cause differences of opinion to arise between colleagues of different specialties, regardless of the preexisting quality of the relationships between the physicians. In addition, different value systems may lead to physician-patient conflict, and divergent opinions regarding patient disposition, reimbursement, level of care provided, diagnostic tests, and therapies lead to conflicts with managed care organizations. Conflict may contribute significantly to stress and difficulty functioning effectively. Thus, the ability to achieve conflict resolution is invaluable. In this article, we discuss the factors that contribute to conflict in the emergency department and present strategies to facilitate conflict resolution.

DOI

10.1067/mem.2002.126567

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