URI to explore conflicts among nurses

The University of Rhode Island’s College of Nursing is hosting a conference April 29 to May 1 on conflicts among nurses, their impact on patient care, and how to correct the problem.
The event, to be held at the Westin Providence hotel, is entitled “Ending Horizontal Violence: Creating a Culture of Cohesion Among Nurses.” It is a response to a mandate from The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals and other health care agencies, that leaders address disruptive behavior at all levels of health care organizations.
“We know that these types of behaviors are not unique to nursing, but they are associated with patient safety and nurse dissatisfaction,” said URI professor Patricia Burbank. “It is a big issue because of the intensity and complexity of the environment. None of us act our best when we’re stressed.”
The college received an anonymous gift in 2006 to support efforts to address so-called “horizontal violence,” and since then, faculty have been working on ways to help hospitals develop an environment of trust, cooperation and mutual respect.
As part of that effort, the college has awarded “mini-grants” to The Westerly Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital and the Eleanor Slater Hospital to study the issues.
The keynote speech at the conference, will be given by Kathleen Bartholomew, author of “Ending Nurse-to-Nurse Hostility: Why Nurses Eat Their Young and Each Other” on April 29.
For more information or to register, visit www.uri.edu/meeturi/nursing. Those who register before March 31 will get a discount rate of $300. Those who register between April 1 and April 28 will pay a $425 fee. The day-of-event fee is $475.