Conflict Management Education in Medicine: Considerations for Curriculum Designers

It is important to address conflict in the medical field for a variety of reasons ranging from reducing turnover to increasing the quality of care received by patients. One way to assist with the management of medical conflict is by teaching resolution techniques to medical personnel. There is an opportunity for conflict management curriculum to address many of the issues facing physicians, administrators, staff and patients, however, it is also necessary for those developing that curriculum to understand the nature of the environment and appropriate conflict management tools to be used in that environment as part of the design process. This article outlines sources of medical conflict, conflict resolution tools appropriate for medical settings, a possible curriculum model approach for curriculum development, and some considerations for creating curriculum for the unique medical environment.