The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Nursing: An Overview

José María Augusto Landa, Esther López-Zafra

Department of Social Psychology University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain..

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2010.11008                

Abstract

In this paper we focus on the role that Emotional Intelligence has on nursing. We pay attention to both students and professionals and the role emotional intelligence has on emotional self-concept and burnout. Our studies with nursing students yield positive relations between the Clarity and Emotional Repair components of Perceived Emotional Intelligence and all scales of the self-concept scale. On the other hand, nursing professionals that have clear feelings about their emotions and situations that occur, and are capable of dealing with those emotions, have lower levels of stress in their work. Also, those nurses who show a high ability to curtail their negative emotional states and prolong positive emotional states show higher levels of overall health than those individuals who have trouble regulating their emotions. Our results imply that the emotional and cognitive dimensions have to be taken into account in future training programs for nursing professionals and students

Keywords

Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Self-Concept, Burnout, Occupational stressors, Health, Nursing

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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