Cross-cultural conflict: the American nurse manager and a culturally mixed staff

Many hospitals have employed nurses from other countries in order to cope with the problems of the nursing shortage in the United States. Mixing nurses from different cultures may create cross-cultural conflicts related to differing hierarchies of needs and to differences in language, decision making, viewing conflicts, behavioral norms, and role expectations. Nursing managers can develop feasible and effective means for solving cross-cultural conflicts if they are aware of these cultural differences, encourage the nurses involved to discuss their differences, and expand their own ability to listen.