Helping medical students identify their emotional intelligence

Abstract

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 ...

Correlates of emotional intelligence: Results from a multi-institutional study among undergraduate medical students

“…Females scored significantly higher on overall EI, empathy and the utilization of emotions subscales. A study from the Peninsula Medical School which focused on students' perceptions of the utility of EI, reported that the majority of the students liked to learn about the psychology of EI and valued identifying their emotional competencies and areas for development (Lewis et al 2004). Another study by Stratton et al (2005) found empathic concern to be a significant predictor of medical students' physical examination skills.…”

The emotional intelligence of medical students: An exploratory cross-sectional study

“…A recent review, containing some new data, from the Peninsula Medical School in UK and the University of Adelaide, has criticized the use of EI in a medical setting (Lewis et al 2005), based on questions concerning the construct validity and psychometric properties of EI measures. A further study from the Peninsula Medical School focused on students' views of the utility of this measurement (Lewis et al 2004), reported that the majority of the students welcomed the opportunity to learn about the psychology of EI, and also valued identifying (using the emotional competency inventory) their competencies and areas for development. A study from Kentucky (Stratton et al 2005) using the trait meta-mood scale and Davis' interpersonal reactivity index, found empathic concern to be a significant predictor of students' physical examination skills.…”

Emotional intelligence and perceived stress in healthcare students: a multi-institutional, multi-professional survey

“…One such factor, emotional intelligence (EI), is increasingly made reference to in medicine, nursing and other healthcare disciplines where it is suggested it is important for professional mental health as well as effective practice [2,14-16]. The concept of EI was introduced over a decade ago by Salovey and Mayer [17] and is described as 'a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and other's emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions'.…”