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What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and manage one’s own emotions while simultaneously understanding the emotions displayed by others around you.
An emotionally intelligent person is highly self-aware of the impact that their own emotions may have on their surroundings. Rather than allowing themselves to react purely based on their initial feelings in a difficult situation, they are able to identify what they are feeling, why they feel this way and regulate their emotion in order to contribute to a positive outcome.
Why is emotional intelligence important in healthcare?
Healthcare workers are often faced with many challenging situations when providing patient care across all healthcare settings. As a result, they interact with patients and their families during times where emotions can vary from the extremes – they may be sad, angry, happy, anxious, etc.
An emotionally intelligent healthcare worker must have the foresight to understand their patients’ emotions and anticipate moving forward with empathy.
Patient health outcomes benefit from environments where healthcare workers establish patient trust, respect and display positive attitudes. It improves the quality of patient care. Patients will be apt to more accurately report their ailments and closely follow their care instructions when experiencing a setting built by emotionally intelligent workers.
Additionally, emotional intelligence contributes to the well-being of the healthcare workers themselves. Lessening burn-out through being more in tuned to the emotions they may feel and managing them better.
Where can you start?
The first place to start is by self-reflection each day after you return home from your work shift. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What emotions did I feel during my work day?
- How did those emotions impact my day?
- Were they appropriate to the situation?
- How did my emotions influence my surroundings?
- Could the outcome have been different if I had reacted differently?
- Did I receive the response I hoped for from others, when I displayed these emotions?
- Did my reactions contribute positively to my patient’s care?
- Did my reactions contribute positively to my work environment?
- How can I manage my emotions differently during difficult times?
In addition, seek out information on emotional intelligence. There are numerous health journals out there which have published helpful insight to the benefits of emotional intelligence in healthcare, such as the International Journal of Nursing Sciences.