Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Dental Hygiene Clinical Teaching Effectiveness

Abstract

The development of strong interpersonal relationships between clinical instructors and students has been found to contribute to clinical teaching efectiveness (CTE). In addition, strong interpersonal relationships are more likely to occur in individuals who possess a high level of emotional intelligence (EI). However, an examination of the impact of a clinical instructor's EI on CTE has not been extensively investigated. The aims of this study were to measure the CTE and EI of dental hygiene clinical instructors and to identify any correlations between their CTE and EI. In this cross-sectional quantitative study conducted in 2017, dental hygiene clinical instructors in selected U.S. dental hygiene programs were invited to complete two online assessments: the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the Nursing Clinical Teaching Efectiveness Inventory (NCTEI). Demographic data collected from participants was also included in the exploratory data analysis. A total of 42 clinical instructors from programs in 19 states completed both the MSCEIT and the NCTEI. The results showed statistically signiicant correlations between negative clinical teaching behaviors and MSCEIT outcomes. These results suggest that emotional intelligence may be linked to dental hygiene clinical instructors' teaching efectiveness, with low emotional intelligence being a predictor of negative teaching behaviors.

Association between emotional intelligence and professionalism among dental hygiene students

“…15 Developing techniques to improve EI among dental and dental hygiene students remain critical due to the existing literature demonstrating the implications of EI with student success in didactic and clinical environments, 14 the ethical decision making process, 16 and the interactions between clinical instructors and students. 17 The findings in our study found most of the professionalism domain scores were in the moderate range except for agreeableness and conscientiousness, which were in the high range. These professionalism domain scores seem consistent with the domain scores of dental students who were rated by calibrated faculty members.…”

Impact of emotional intelligence training in a communication and ethics course among second‐year dental students

“…The dynamic of clinical instruction may be affected by the EI scores of the clinical faculty. Dental hygiene instructors with higher EI scores demonstrated higher levels of teaching effectiveness than dental hygiene instructors with lower EI scores 18 . The EI scores of the dental student and clinical faculty may impact the quality of the teaching and learning relationship.…”

Attributes of Effective Clinical Teachers in Dental Hygiene Education

“…Prior to our study, minimal research had been conducted to explore the attributes of effective clinical instructors in dental hygiene education 3,18,19 . Our findings identified attributes in dental hygiene clinical instructors that may contribute to effective teaching.…”

“…Researchers in many health professions (nursing, medicine, physical therapy, dentistry) have sought to identify characteristics of effective clinical instructors and have used this information to create tools to measure clinical teaching effectiveness (CTE) in their disciplines 2,4‐17 . However, in dental hygiene education, only a few studies have explored the attributes of an effective clinical instructor 3,18,19 . The aim of this study was to identify the attributes of dental hygiene clinical instructors associated with effective teaching.…”