People are difficult. They’re tough to deal with, especially in a tense environment where everyone is overworked, tense, and are trying to function on only a few hours of sleep. In these situations, it’s even almost expected that we would have to deal with conflicts and clashes in the workplace. However, even in hospitals and health centers that are properly staffed, and where the nurses and medical personnel work appropriate hours, these personality issues may also come from other places such as problematic patients or abusive superiors.

It’s tough working alongside an unpleasant or difficult team member. But, when these behaviors begin affecting the quality of care that you can provide, it is time to draw the line. According to a 2008 survey on the impact of disruptive behaviors and communication defects on patient safety conducted by Rosenstein and O’Daniel and sponsored by the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, around 67% of candidates felt that there was a link between disruptive behaviors and negative consequences. At least 71% felt that these disruptive behaviors led to medication errors, and around 21% thought that these issues could contribute to an increase in mortality rates.

Consequences aside, it’s not even remotely pleasant working with difficult or toxic individuals. In this sense, even though the patients might come out unscathed, you will start to hate your current workplace, and might even become increasingly sick as the stress rises, not to mention the distrust that is fostered in the workplace through the actions of these individuals. These negative interactions can lead to communication failure, which results in the misinterpretation of information as well as a decrease in the quality of the care provided to the patient.

So, if the conflicts escalate, and you don’t know how to deal with them, consider the following:

Choose Your Company Wisely

Just like in school or college, there are many groups and crowds in the workplace. Each group has different interests, discussion topics, and views on how to go about their days. Your selection of a group to interact with may have an even greater effect on your general views on things than what you might have initially imagined. In this sense, if you hang with the gossip girls, the negative Nancys, or other unsavory types, your own views of your workplace could start to shift towards negative areas. In this sense, even if you go into work with a positive attitude, the negative disposition of your coworkers will start chipping away at your being and, just like that, your quality of service will begin to diminish.

It’s much easier to keep a positive outlook on life and work if you mingle with the right people. It’s important to find a group of people that cherish and support you if you want to foster the social interactions that would help you improve in the workplace and not the other way around. Also, as you begin to promote these habits and interactions, more positive people will gravitate towards you, further improving the situation for everyone involved.

Be Strong in Your Convictions

No one likes a wet noodle. If you let yourself get bossed around by superiors and peers—especially for activities that have nothing to do with work, such as fetching coffee for everyone—you will slowly start to lose the respect of your teammates. It’s always important to adopt a stance of stoic respect to abuse, so that you can foster the presence of mind to deal with these issues in an objective manner and, if need be, get the appropriate authorities involved. Whatever you do, it’s important to clarify the boundaries of what is and what isn’t your responsibilities. However, it’s also important to help out whenever you can. In this sense, even if it’s not your job, maybe you could fetch your stressed coworker a coffee so that they may unwind a bit.

Shift Your Perspectives

It’s easy to get caught up in the heat of an argument, especially when you know, for a fact, that you are right. Nevertheless, in many occasions, the conflict is not about who is right, but about pride and not letting yourself get proven wrong. In the occasions where someone is irrational and refuses to take no for an answer, it’s important to shift your perspective to find an appropriate way to respond to conflict. If you can’t change the way others will react to something, maybe you can shift your point of view to try and understand why they react in such manners. In this way, you will obtain the insight to understand your peers, and even maybe to break the barriers that are separating your opposing stances in the workplace.

Remember, when it comes to personal opinions on the job, it’s not always about being right, but rather to not get proven wrong. For some people, you can’t change the ways they react, but you CAN change how you respond to their attitude, and herein lies the key to a successful work relationship.

Practice Objective Communication

In some situations where choosing to hand with the right crowd, or where trying to act empathetically doesn’t help, it’s important to learn to communicate objectively. That is, if you have an issue with someone, in particular, it’s important to learn how to communicate this problem while trying to avoid arguments. In other words, you must learn how to tackle their disruptive behaviors and convictions and not the person itself. This action requires a degree of subtlety to question the person without your comments coming across as an attack. However, it is the best way to face problems in the workplace as, through honesty, you can foster stronger relationships with your peers.

In this sense, if you feel personally attacked by someone, or have witnessed something that you’d wish to discuss with someone, try to ask them about it simply and with no judgment. Communicate how their actions made you feel, and if they could offer some insight that would help you comprehend their motives. In many cases, you might find that there were simply in a bad spot emotionally, and might even thank you for taking an interest in their wellbeing.

Through positive communication, you can help create a better workplace not just for yourself, but also for all the other nurses that you interact with on a daily basis.