The construct of emotional intelligence (EI) has gained increasing popularity over the last 10 years and now has a relatively large academic and popular associated literature. EI is beginning to be discussed within the medical education literature, where, however, it is treated uncritically. This reflections paper aims to stimulate thought about EI and poses the question: Are we trying to measure the unmeasurable? The paper begins with an outline of the relevance and meaningfulness of the topic of EI for doctors. It continues with an overview of the main models and measures of EI. We then critique the psychometric properties of EI measures and give an illustrative case study where we tested the psychometric properties of the ECI-U with medical students. After our critique, we present an alternative model of EI and outline possible future directions for educational research.

Passing underperformance in students is ubiquitous across health and social care educators and is intimately related to the subsequent welfare of patients: underperforming students may become underperforming practitioners. This paper aims to examine how medical educators construct passing underperformance through an analysis of their social act of explaining such behaviours in peer-group settings. Ten focus groups were conducted with 70 medical educators across two UK schools with different curricular/assessment styles (England, Scotland). A qualitative content analysis of how educators explained their behaviours of passing underperformance was undertaken using the psychological concepts of proximality and distalness according to: (1) Malle's F.Ex. coding framework for behavioural explanations, and (2) participants' use of pronouns. 149 explanations of passing underperformance were identified: 72 for participants' own behaviour, 77 for others' behaviour. When explaining their own behaviour, participants used the proximal pronoun I 37% (n = 27) of the time and the distancing pronouns we/you 51% (n = 37) of the time. More Causal History of Reasons (38%; n = 27) and Enabling Factors (29%; n = 21) than Reasons (33%; n = 24) were cited. A similar pattern was found for explaining others' behaviour. Thus, medical educators used linguistic form, explanation mode and informational content within peer-group discussions to distance themselves from intentionality for their action of passing underperformance and highlighted desirable characteristics of themselves and medical educators in general. Faculty development programmes should develop assessors' awareness of how implicit factors within their talk can legitimise a culture of passing underperformance and explore the steps for cultural change.

These results suggest that presynaptic mechanisms involving local circuit GLU neurons, and not GLU receptors, contribute to adaptations in VTA GABA neuron excitability that accrue to ethanol exposure, which may contribute to the rewarding properties of alcohol via their regulation of mesolimbic dopamine transmission.

ments in student satisfaction. Between 2001 and 2003, the level of student satisfaction increased by 16% for access to administration, by 20% for student participation on key committees, by 26% for administrative awareness of student concerns, by 35% for responsiveness of the administration to student concerns, and by 22% for career planning services. The initiative is now in its third year of implementation and new focus areas have been identified each year. The level of student involvement has been excellent, with over 100 students currently participating in the programme.Context and setting Emotional intelligence (EI) has been defined as the ability to identify and regulate one's own and others' emotions. Although studies have begun to explore the EI of medical students, they have centred on selections rather than on the development of medical students' EI during their undergraduate training. We wanted to give first year medical students the opportunity to reflect on the concept of EI and to identify their own emotional competencies as part of their personal and professional development at Peninsula Medical School (PMS), UK. Why the idea was necessary Medical graduates must demonstrate effective personal and professional behaviours. Those behaviours espoused by regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council, UK and the Association of American Medical Colleges, USA are consistent with the concept of EI. What was done First year medical students at PMS attended a 2-hour workshop in May 2003. The workshop began with a short presentation outlining current models of EI and the tools available to assess it. Students then completed the University version of the Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI-U) and scored their own competencies. They discussed their strengths and strategies for improving their less strong competencies in pairs and then discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the ECI-U tool as a large group. Before leaving the workshop, participants completed a 14-item evaluation questionnaire, which asked them to make value judgements about 11 statements using 5-point Likert scales, where 1 ¼ strongly disagree and 5 ¼ strongly agree. Six statements were worded negatively (e.g. 'Despite attending this workshop, I feel unable to identify strategies to help me develop my less strong emotional competencies' ) item 8) and 5 were worded positively (e.g. 'I found it enjoyable to complete the 63 items of the ECI' ) item 4). Three open questions asked students what they most enjoyed, what they thought could be improved and if they had further comments. Data were entered into SPSS and descriptive statistics were determined. Evaluation of results and impact Of the 121 students who attended the workshop, 112 (92.6%) completed the questionnaire satisfactorily. Students rated the workshop positively. For example, 91 students (81.3%) strongly disagreed or disagreed with the statement 'Despite attending this workshop, I feel unsure about what EI is' (item 1), and 92 students (82.1%) strongly agreed or agreed with the ...

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