Conflict in nursing management in the hospital context

This qualitative study aimed to analyze how conflicts manifest in interpersonal relations and the dimensions they assume in nursing management in hospitals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 nurse managers from hospitals in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Content analysis was used to interpret the results. Among the results, it was highlighted that: a) 11 of the 13 nurses have been managers for more than 80% of their time since graduation and expressed that they had no idea about the management role before taking up this function; b) the nurses consider that conflicts are immanent in the organization, entailing the need to live and interact with them; c) internal conflicts showed to be the most determining for the managers. There is a need to understand the origin of conflicts and factors favoring their establishment, as well as to acknowledge the importance of an interdisciplinary response.