IMPACT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ON SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE OF HEAD NURSES WORKING AT HEALTH INSURANCE HOSPITAL

The career of Nursing involves interpersonal relations on a daily basis which can lead to conflict. So, nurses should learn how to handle the work conflict effectively. Because the management of conflict may lead to desired organizational results like: satisfaction, effectiveness, fairness, as well as improve emotional and social intelligence. This study aims at examining the program influence of Conflict management strategies on social intelligence of head nurses. Quasi-experimental design is used to perform this study. The study includes all head nurses (n= 41) who work in health insurance hospital. at Mansoura. Three tools are used to collect data, namely Conflict management questionnaire, Social Intelligence Questionnaire and knowledge Test. The main result of the study was statistical significant correlation between conflict management strategies and social intelligence. Highly statistical correlation found between collaborating and social problem solving and significant correlation between compromising and social skills. Highly statistical significant improvement of head nurses' knowledge were found immediately and 3 months after the program than before starting it. The result revealed high change regarding knowledge in relation to conflict management strategies and later social intelligence. It is recommended that social intelligence is a foundation for, and can help to facilitate the head nurses to be more effective and successful. So, the paper suggests an emphasis on the importance of social intelligence which promoting understanding, moderating conflict and fostering stability, learn how to enrich the abilities of social intelligence, measure a head nurses' social intelligence and helps them develop a plan for improving it, increase social intelligence through building teams, some activities of training, and spending some hours in social communication between supervisors and subordinates. Other training programs are still needed to improve nurses‘ social intelligence to enable them to manage conflicts effectively.