Strategies for interprofessional facilitators and clinical supervisors that may enhance the emotional intelligence of therapy students

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical skill for occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech pathology students (therapy students). This article reports the findings from an analysis of interviews with therapy students (n = 24) to determine the aspects of clinical placements that therapy students perceived as influencing the changes in EI scores. This article reports the findings of the qualitative phase of a longitudinal, retrospective mixed methods design. Interviewees were selected using purposive sampling. Of those interviewed, 95% agreed that clinical placements had a significant impact on a range of EI skills with changes being both positive and negative. Content analysis showed that students perceived their EI skills had changed because of the following aspects of clinical placements: student-supervisor interactions, student interactions with patients in emotional distress and being encouraged to reflect and hear feedback on their EI skills. To support and enhance student's EI skills, interprofessional facilitators and profession-specific supervisors are recommended to utilise the following strategies with interprofessional cohorts. Supervisors and facilitators should be emotionally in-tune with students and trust students to work autonomously with patients experiencing emotional distress, pain and loss, especially those with complex needs. Importantly, interprofessional facilitators and direct supervisors should encourage students to reflect on their EI skills both individually and as a group. Supervisors should frequently evaluate and provide feedback to students on their EI skills, at the same time as providing feedback on their practical and clinical reasoning skills.

Changes in the emotional intelligence of occupational therapy students during practice education: A longitudinal study

“…Students were on placements for a mean of 117 days of the 16-month (approximately 480 days) period; thus despite the control group, we cannot conclusively state that the changes in emotional intelligence scores of the occupational therapy students were a direct result of their placements because they were also involved in further teaching at university, paid or volunteer employment, as well as personal life events over the same period. Further qualitative research by (Gribble et al., 2017c) on the development of emotional intelligence in students during practice placement found majority of emotional intelligence changes (95%) were reported to be a direct result of their practice placements, with only 5% perceiving that the emotional intelligence change was due to personal factors external to placements. This study interviewed occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech pathology students about how practice placements influenced changes in their emotional intelligence.…”

“…This article reports the results from only the occupational therapy students. Phase two interviewed 24 of the same students to investigate if, and how, practice education influenced changes in emotional intelligence scores (Gribble et al., 2017c).…”

The impact of clinical placements on the emotional intelligence of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, and business students: a longitudinal study

“…Grenier [35] reported that clinical supervisors who demonstrate poor communication skills, disengagement, high levels of control, being closed-minded or supervised with intimidation could negatively impact a student’s performance. Gribble et al [27] also reported that clinical supervisors could have a negative impact on the EI competencies of therapy students.…”

“…Students who experience difficulty during placements have been reported to demand additional time from supervisors [39], thus students with lower EI scores may also require additional support, although more research is required ot confirm this possibility. Supervisors need to be aware that a poor supervisory environment might impact a student’s EI skills [27]. For example, an intimidating or disengaged supervisor might diminish a student’s assertiveness and self-expression, which consequently impacts the student’s performance.…”

“…This paper reports the findings of the quantitative phase of a larger study which used a longitudinal, retrospective mixed methods design as proposed by Plano Clark et al [24]. An analysis of the therapy students’ baseline scores before the commencement of clinical placements [25], their changes in the EI skills from T1 to T2 [26], and the qualitative findings [27] have been previously published.…”