Conflict Handling 1

PDSAROLE

  • You are a Senior Veterinary Surgeon about to take a telephone call from a customer who apparently isn’t very happy about his fee for veterinary services for his pet.
  • START the role play by announcing yourself to the customer.

Conflict Handling 1

CUSTOMER ROLE

  • You are a customer who has received treatment from PDSA for your pet. You are struggling to keep your head above water financially. You live alone and your pet is a great comfort for you.
  • You have some concerns about PDSA policy that has made your ‘blood boil’:

They say that the veterinary service is free but they have only made a contribution to your veterinary fees.

You found one of the Veterinary Nurses quite rude. For example, you asked her a question about the treatment as you were concerned for your pet and it was met with “We do know how to do our jobs you know!”

  • You are about to phone the Senior Veterinary Surgeon to make your point.
  • PLAY very irate and confrontational e.g. say “You lot are a waste of space” and “I’m going to the press about this – it’s a bleeding con”

Conflict Handling 2

CONFLICTED PERSON 1ROLE

  • You are a Senior Veterinary Surgeon.
  • Your management style is fairly direct but polite. Let’s face it, you get stressed in your job and people have to realise that you can’t be nicey – nicey all the time.You feel that nobody could get upset or be offended by your behaviour.
  • You are an avid football fan but hate soap operas. You can’t understand what people see in them.
  • You have been invited to a meeting with one of your Veterinary Surgeons and a CONFLICT FACILITATOR. You have been told that the Surgeon (who tends to be a bit sensitive anyway) is not happy about their relationship with you. This is news to you!
  • The CONFLICT FACILITATOR will manage the meeting.
  • PLAY quite aggrieved and take an attitude (initially) that this is a waste of time and you have better things to do with yourself. Suggest that‘if they can’t stand the fire then they should get out of the kitchen’

Conflict Handling 2

CONFLICTED PERSON 2ROLE

  • You are a Veterinary Surgeon. The person you are in conflict with is the Senior Veterinary Surgeon (SVS).
  • His/her management style tends to be direct and quite detached, which you take to be bullying. For example:
  • When he/she makes a request they never say “Please”. It’s always do this, do that.
  • The SVS is football mad and talks about it incessantly. You hate football but love Coronation Street and Eastenders. It’s just that when you are talking at work (not necessarily directly to the SVS) he/shemakes derogatory comments about soap operas which you take to feel you’re being picked on.
  • The issues are causing you a lot of internal conflict which means that you’re not sleeping well and sometimes dread coming into work (despite the fact that you loved your job before the SVS joined the practice).
  • You have not feedback any of this to the SVS. To be honest you’re afraid to as you feel you’ll get the sack.
  • You mentioned the issue to the CONFLICT FACILITATOR whowill manage the meeting between you and the SVS.

Conflict Handling 3

CONFLICTED PERSON 1ROLE

  • You are a Veterinary Surgeon (VS). You have very high standards.
  • You don’t think that a colleague VS is very good at their job. For example they take short cuts with the procedures and are very untidy with equipment. You are continually ‘tidying up’ after them.You’ve mentioned the tidying up to them a couple of times but nothing seems to improve.
  • You have criticised this colleague to one or two people, in confidence, in the Practice about these things.
  • Out of the blue, you have been invited to a meeting with the colleague VS and a CONFLICT FACILITATOR. You have been told that the VS wants to discuss their working relationship with you.
  • The CONFLICT FACILITATOR will manage the meeting.
  • PLAY quite aggrieved and take an attitude (initially) that this is a waste of time and you have better things to do with yourself.

Conflict Handling 3

CONFLICTED PERSON 2ROLE

  • You are a Veterinary Surgeon (VS). The person you are in conflict with is a colleague VS.
  • Your relationship with this colleague is okay but you’ll never be the ‘best of buddies’. They tend to be a bit niggly about really small things. For example you not putting equipment back properly. It tends to annoy you because you do a very busy job and there’s never enough time to do these things. Besides, you can’t be a perfectionist in this organisation.
  • You’ve now heard ‘through the grapevine’ that the colleague has been passing comment about the standards of your work, namely taking shortcuts in your work.WHO THE HELL DO THEY THINK THEY ARE? – AND BEHIND YOUR BACK TOO!!
  • You’ve had a word with the CONFLICT FACILITATOR who will manage the meeting with you and your colleague to try and ‘iron things out’.
  • PLAY annoyed (initially).