Conflict with colleagues or patients is inevitable. Find out how to deal with it professionally, reflect and learn from it, and develop conflict management skills

The healthcare workplace is a ‘fertile breeding ground for conflicts’ – so says Health Education England (HEE) in an online learning programme about managing conflict at work.

That may be disappointing if you went into nursing thinking that your work would involve only compassion and caring.

Is conflict the seventh C?

Rest assured that, for the most part, it does. But working under intense pressure and in situations where the stakes are high, you may find that conflict features more frequently than you expected or are comfortable with.