Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1979-9-25
pubmed:abstractText
Mental health workers on inpatient units spend a great deal of time trying to cope with interpersonal tensions that disrupt ward life. We have focused our attention on two aspects of this problem. The first is clarifying the nature of the social processes that underlie periods of increased tension and conflict on wards. The second is clarifying the kinds of staff leadership required to manage these tensions. We are sure that those who have worked on interactive treatment wards will recognize this situation: for a period of weeks or more there is an uneasy tension; patient cliques form and disruption occurs between cliques and with the staff. Often there is a climax of disruptive behavior, such as a day or weekend when a large number of patients break ward rules. Trouble seems to be contagious. Throughout the period staff members disagree about how to manage the patients and the disruption, and usually this disagreement is tinged with old philosophical or personal differences. No one feels very confident about taking leadership initiatives, and the formal leaders are blamed for various failures and lacks. Eventually, often after a climactic disturbance is resolved, ward life returns to "normal" and people feel much better about living and working on the ward. In this paper we review previous work on this kind of ward process and discuss some of the problems involved in conceptualizing it. We report on two period of ward observation that illustrate the sequence from low to high tension and back to relative calm. We then discuss our ideas about the kinds of staff leadership needed to manage different phases of this sequence and the problems of developing and integrating multiple ward leadership roles.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0033-2747
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
42
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
220-40
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1979
pubmed:articleTitle
Ward tension and staff leadership in a therapeutic community for hospitalized adolescents.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article