Clinic Training Conflict Management

Client situation

A large clinic located in the middle of a social hotspot complained of an above-average number of escalating situations between patients and staff. As a result, the processes in the clinic's daily routines – which were already difficult due to a lack of staff – were regularly made more complicated by time-consuming mediation efforts.

Our solution

After a detailed on-site analysis, it became clear that there were two very different problems: One was that the heavy workload of the nursing staff made it more difficult for them to communicate in a patient-centred manner. Thus, conflicts were dealt with inadequately. The other problem was that the medical staff had difficulty conducting discussions with patients on an equal footing.

We decided to pursue a double training strategy: In several intensive training sessions, the medical staff received support in targeted discussion and conflict management. Also, they were given the opportunity to analyse concrete cases encountered in their everyday lives. The nursing staff were trained in a strongly practice-oriented seminar to improve stress management, prevent conflicts by making communication more friendly, and take de-escalating action at the first sign of conflict.

Client benefits

Already during an initial follow-up 6 months after the first training sessions, the medical staff said there was a significant increase of confidence during patient consultations. The duration of talks was reduced significantly. The nursing staff consistently described an increase in competence when it came to stress management, accompanied by an improvement in the quality of patient relationships.