Herbert & Edgar (2004) defined emotional intelligence as the ability of expressing and controlling our emotions while at the same time understanding, interpreting, and responding appropriately to the emotions of others. Emotional intellect is a significant factor in management. Herbert & Edgar (2004) found out that there is a positive relationship between emotionally intelligent leadership and employee satisfaction, retention, and performance. Emotional intelligence is, therefore, essential for effective practice, especially in the respect to delivering patient-centered care.

During my internship at the Emergency Medical Service (EMS), I was able to interact with many people at different levels of leadership who have different leadership styles. Leaders using the dictatorship style of leadership paid little attention to the emotional needs of other colleagues and patients. For instance, Kerr, Garvin, Heaton, & Boyle (2006) found out that doctors who assess patients while discriminating their emotions have an adverse impact on the quality and accuracy of history taking and diagnosis. The leaders who embrace democratic style of leadership can understand patients’ emotional reactions and hence positively influence the outcome of therapy (Birks & Watt, 2007). According to the lecture on emotional intelligence, the ability to manage and read emotions is an essential skill for any health professional because it will enhance patient-centered care. The skill will also improve the quality of the professional-patient relationship, and increase patient levels of satisfaction with care.

As a medical student, I have an excellent opportunity to improve my emotional intelligence through my interactions with the various leaders. The hospital set up and the interaction with patients also provides a conducive environment to increase the level of my personal emotional intelligence. According to Por, Barriball, Fitzpatrick, & Roberts (2010), the primary point of focus is developing self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills and constructive coping mechanisms.

References

Birks, Y. F. & Watt, I. S. 2007. Emotional intelligence and patient-centered care. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 100(8), 368–374.

Herbert, R., & Edgar, L. 2004. Emotional intelligence: a primal dimension of nursing leadership? Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership, 17, 56-63.

Por, J., Barriball, L., Fitzpatrick, J., & Roberts J. (2010). Emotional Intelligence: its relationship to stress, coping, wellbeing and professional performance in nursing students. Nurse Education Today. 31, 855-860.

Kerr, R., Garvin, J., Heaton, N., & Boyle, E. (2006). Emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(4), 265-279.

Classroom Lecture on Emotional Intelligence.