Equipping children’s nurses to de-escalate conflict and communicate challenging information
Intended for healthcare professionals
CPD    

Equipping children’s nurses to de-escalate conflict and communicate challenging information

Doreen Crawford Nurse Adviser, Crawford-McKenzie, Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, England
Doris Corkin Senior Lecturer (Education), Professional Lead Children’s Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland
Graham McKenzie Consultant, Crawford-McKenzie, Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To recognise challenging situations that children’s nurses may encounter when there is conflict between the family of the critically ill child or young person in their care and the wider professional team

  • To increase your knowledge of strategies for de-escalating conflict and tensions and maintaining your safety at work

  • To count towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD, or you may wish to write a reflective account (UK readers)

  • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)

This article considers some of the challenging situations that children’s nurses may encounter when there are tensions and disagreements between the family of the child or young person in their care and the wider professional team. The focus is on disagreements about what some might consider futile critical care. It aims to equip children’s nurses with strategies for dealing with conflict and tensions, and support them to be proactive in identifying situations that might need de-escalation. The options available to support the healthcare team and therefore avoid litigation are explored, while avenues of support available to nursing staff are considered. Suggestions and examples of effective and skilful communication with families receiving challenging news are provided. The legal position designed to safeguard children’s nurses is reviewed and practical strategies are offered to support nurses to protect themselves from physical violence if the situation escalates.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2020.e1296

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

doreen@crawfordmckenzie.co.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Crawford D, Corkin D, McKenzie G (2020) Equipping children’s nurses to de-escalate conflict and communicate challenging information. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2020.e1296

Published online: 06 July 2020

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