Which of the following can cause conflict in healthcare teams?

• A. Values
• B. Shift scheduling practices
• C. Equipment maintenance issues
• D. Marketing strategies

Answer: (A)

Differences in what team members deeply believe about patient care—values—are a common source of conflict in healthcare teams. When people hold different beliefs about what is most important for a patient (for example, prioritizing life-prolonging treatment versus focusing on comfort and quality of life), how to respect patient autonomy, or how to balance individual patient goals with limited resources, these divergent values can clash and hinder collaboration. This type of disagreement tends to persist because it’s about fundamental priorities and ethical perspectives that guide decisions.

Shift scheduling and equipment maintenance are about how work gets done—logistics and operations. They can create tension or stress, but they stem from process design and resource management rather than core belief differences about patient care. Marketing strategies relate to external communications and business direction, not the day-to-day clinical decisions and teamwork within a patient care setting. In short, conflicts driven by values go to the heart of decisions about treatment and ethics, making them the most likely source of disagreement among healthcare teams.