Interpersonal conflict

I was working in a clinic as a part time clinic assistant during the school holidays. As I was new and inexperienced, there were many things I had to learn from scratch. There was once I was told I had to work with A, whom I had never met before. Initially I thought it might be a good chance to know more people but my first impression of her didn’t turn out well.

I was working the night-shift with A . When I first saw her, I tried greeting her by calling her name and saying hi. However her response was a cold, curt nod with barely a glance at me. As we were the only two clinic assistant around, I hoped the situation wouldn’t be so tense. I tried to create conversation by asking more about her, such as where she stayed and how long she had been working. Her responses were always laconic one-worded utterances.

Later in the evening, A went out for dinner, leaving me alone in the clinic and unfortunately several patients came after she left. Since I was inexperienced with the drugs, I wasn’t confident enough to dispense the medication without her around. I panicked and quickly called her. It was only after some time that I saw her strolling into the clinic with a pack of dinner. The patients gave me irritated looks because they couldn’t get their medicine after seeing the doctor. As I was rushing to settle patients bill and medication, there was a female patient who came in and sat there. I was busy at that point of time and didn’t remember if that female patient had been registered into the system. Thus I went to ask A, who was eating her packed dinner if that particular patient was registered, A replied me yes. In the end it turned out the patient was not registered and she started ranting about my inefficiency, in coarse language, and even flung at me the card she had written her name on. I felt pretty upset over this incident and complained to my parents about it. However I did not raise this issue to anyone in the clinic because I felt that I was a newcomer and did not want to create any tensions between colleagues. But I had a bad impression about her after that especially when I knew I would be working with her.

I guess in this issue the main problem could be a breakdown in communication between A and myself. There could be many reasons why A was treating me in this manner. Perhaps she was feeling down and did not wish to talk to me, or she may dislike newcomers, etc. On the other side, I had prejudice against her because of her attitude towards me. Thus, in facing such a situation, how would you have handled it?

Why effective communication skills are important for you?

Effective communication is a relevant skill everyone should be equipped with. It enhances the quality of interpersonal interactions, increases understanding and is important in the development of strong relationships.Equipped with these skills, one would be able to express oneself better and prevent any misunderstandings due to miscommunication.

Being able to communicate is easy, but the ability to communicate effectively and translating your idea across without any mistakes is difficult. In addition, the way you communicate with your family and friends will be different from the way you talk to professors in school. Sometimes a communication breakdown could cause lots of misunderstanding and unhappiness. Thus, equipping myself with such skills ensure I am able to grow myself internally and externally.

By ‘ internally’, I could increase my self-confidence when I am speaking; while ‘externally’, my ideas would be transmitted across more clearly. Succinct and effective communication is also essential in my career when I deliver my thoughts and feelings during interviews and presentations, as well as enabling me to cooperate effectively with my colleagues.

However being a shy and soft-spoken person, this is not an easy task. To achieve this, I would need to build up my confidence and the ability to convey my feelings in words rather than bottling them up, whether in group discussions or face-to-face dialogues.