Conflict in Nursing

Nursing school teaches us a lot of different things…important things.  In fact there is so much stuff being taught, the only thing we know for sure is that we are all sleep deprived, paranoid idiots.  I say this because of course sleeping is one of the last things nursing students do.  And the paranoia comes into play because we are convinced that the nursing faculty is out to get us and sabotage our careers in whatever fashion they can think of next.  We are idiots because we know absolutely nothing and the professors will go out of their way to remind us of this at any given moment.  ;)
Not to drag out all the horrible moments of nursing school for those reading, but my point is that there is a lot of learning happening in nursing school.  However, although our heads are being filled with a million different diagnoses and of course all the: anatomy/physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, treatments, lab, test results and intervention that go along with all these, one thing that seems to be forgotten is how cruel the world of nursing actually is. 
It is a proven fact that nursing is one of the cruelest societies out there in the employment world.  The gossiping and backbiting that occurs among nurses is phenomenal.  It is in fact staggering when a new graduate enters that world and has to learn the hard way that nursing is like this. 
With these behaviors occurring in the workplace, it is not unheard of to find conflicts among co-workers, nurses and patients/families, nurses and doctors.  In fact, I don’ think there is a day that goes by where there is no conflict between someone. 
A certain nursing tech on my unit  was having trouble adjusting to the way of life on the unit.  This tech was an international citizen who had a doctorate in nursing in her home country, but was not allowed to practice as a nurse in the United States until she passed her boards.  She was a little bitter that she could only work as a tech.  Because of this, she was very hard to get along with.  She would consistently question anything that a nurse would ask her to do, she would refuse to take a patient assignment for many reasons some being: she didn’t like the nurse who was assigned, she didn’t think it was fair that she got a new patient, or she just didn’t want a new patient.  She also thought it was beneath her to answer call bells (this was definitely annoying because it meant that the call bell would keep going off and the sound is enough to drive you bat crazy). She was rough with patients, and when it came time to clean them up or turn them, it was necessary to remind her to be careful and gentle all the time. 
She would constantly back talk and yet it was others who were always getting in trouble with the manager because she would go and complain or “tattle” if someone wasn’t up to HER par.  In short, it was becoming impossible to work with her at all, because instead of arguing with her for 20 minutes, everyone just began to not let her or ask for her help, which threw everyone off schedule.
Needless to say, the stress and tension level on the floor was incredible.  Finally, someone decided to take a stand and make this craziness stop.  It did stop and the extra stress was removed from the work place, which made it much easier for everyone to do their jobs.  There was a sense of relief and peace among everyone working together.
Conflict may exist in the nursing workplace…but that does not mean that it needs to be accepted or allowed.  Conflict will only affect the job and safety of everyone.