357chapter FIFTEEN
Negotiation Skills for the Doctoral
Advanced Practice Nurse
Vicki D. Lachman and Cheryl M. Vermey
Doctoral advanced practice nurse s are creating new frontiers in the field of nursing, and
as practitioners, they are contributing significantly to the overall health care system. To
fulfill this role, they will encounter many situations requiring negotiation skills. The
realm of negotiation falls within both strategy and tactics. This chapter focuses prima-
rily on the strategic role of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and provides tactical
examples that may be faced in actual practice.
This chapter begins with the context of organizational culture and systems theory
as the place where negotiation takes place. Discussion includes the traits of successful
negotiators and the crucial elements for successful negotiation, sources of power, and
the five- step process for negotiation. Since not all individuals approach negotiation from
a collaborative stance, skills are required for negotiating at an “uneven table,” when
rank and privilege affect the strategies. The chapter ends with strategies for overcoming
barriers to successful negotiation, such as the “Four Horseman of the Apocalypse,” and
common mistakes in negotiation.
Negotiation is a crucial skill for successful relationships (Gottman, 2011; Shapiro,
2015). In order to have the necessary collaborative relations within and between disci-
plines, DNPs must have the skills and strategies known to diplomats. For example, indi-
viduals who take a win-win approach to conflict resolution view conflicts as problems
to be solved and seek solutions that achieve both their own goals, as well as the goals
of the other person. Individuals with this orientation see conflicts as opportunities for
improving relationships by reducing the tension between two people (Gottman, 2011;
Katz & Patterini, 2008).Therefore, the purpose of negotiation is to resolve differences
over, for example, information, values, or goals. Fisher, Ury, and Patton (2011) provide
the following working definition of negotiation: “Two or more parties, with common
and conflicting interests, come together to put forth and discuss explicit proposals for
the purpose of reaching an agreement” (p. 10).
It is important in any negotiation to begin with common interests in order to create
rapport. The purpose of negotiation is to reach an agreement that is based on a thor-
ough discussion of each party’s ideas and where an agreement is reached to meet the
needs of both parties. The solution is one that assures commitment to follow through to