Conflict management styles used by nurse managers in Sultanate of Oman.

Aim. The study aimed to investigate the conflict management styles used by nurse managers in Sultanate of Oman Background: conflict is inevitable in daily nursing work. Several styles are used to manage conflict situations. In previous studies conducted in western countries avoiding and compromising conflict management styles appear to be the first choices for the nurses. In Arab countries no study to date has examined the conflict management styles used by nurse managers to compare with the results from studies conducted in western countries. Design and method:A survey questionnaire was distributed to 271 nurse managers, working in the three-management levels from nine referral hospitals in Sultanate of Oman, a response rate of 86 percent. The results were analysed using SPSS version 16..
Results: nurse managers in Oman used all five conflict management styles, with integrating style as first choice followed in order by compromising, obliging, dominating and avoiding. These results differ from those conducted on nurses in other countries. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Conflict can affect patient care if handled badly.

Conclusion: The results of the present study have implications for people who work in the hospitals, whether practitioners or policy makers. Recommendations are offered to improve nurse managers’ work environment.