Emotional intelligence in nursing is crucial because it helps build trusting relationships with patients, enhances patient satisfaction, improves patient outcomes, and encourages a healthy workplace for all nurses. Self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and intrinsic motivation are the main components of emotional intelligence in healthcare.
Multiple scientific studies have demonstrated that a high level of emotional intelligence in nursing contributes to better-quality patient care. For example, emotionally intelligent nurses were found to have made appropriate critical decisions in patient care. While nursing-specific technical skills, such as wound care and medication administration, are essential to success in the nursing field, soft skills like emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) are also indispensable.
At Concordia University Texas, we’re committed to cultivating soft skills in our nursing students, along with teaching them the fundamental nursing technical skills needed to provide patient care. Concordia University Texas’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) track delivers a comprehensive curriculum that enables transfer students and career switchers to get started in nursing quickly.
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As you look ahead to your future nursing career, it’s important to understand exactly what emotional intelligence in healthcare is and why it’s essential. Learn the main components of emotional intelligence and discover how to cultivate them for yourself.
What Is Emotional Intelligence in Nursing?
When someone possesses strong emotional intelligence, they can recognize, understand, demonstrate, and regulate their own emotions. They are also able to identify, comprehend, and empathize with the emotions of other people, and they can use emotions to relate to and communicate with others in a productive manner.
In nursing, emotional intelligence plays a role in every interpersonal interaction. Cultivating EI and using it in the healthcare setting helps nurses demonstrate professionalism and respect for others.
Why Emotional Intelligence in Nursing Leadership Is Important
Emotional intelligence is important in every aspect of life, from nurturing harmonious relationships to raising well-adjusted children to working well with others in the workplace. EI is particularly critical in the nursing field, as the nursing profession typically involves a high volume of interpersonal contacts throughout each shift. Nurses need to be able to work well with their patients, patients’ family members, fellow nurses, and other healthcare providers.
With strong EI skills, nurses can:
- Demonstrate respect for others
- Cultivate trust in each patient relationship, which can help contribute to better patient outcomes
- Increase patient satisfaction
- Help nurses comfort patients and family members during times of emotional distress
- Reduce the risk of workplace conflicts and peacefully resolve those that do occur
High emotional intelligence has also been linked to better managerial decision-making in a scientific study. While this study did not examine clinical decision-making by nurses, managerial decision-making is certainly important for nurse leaders who must guide and manage fellow providers.
Beyond the benefits to others, cultivating EI for yourself can help you regulate your own stress more effectively. You’ll be better able to understand your own emotions and how they might influence your interactions with others.
The Top Five Components of Emotional Intelligence
Before you can actively work on developing better emotional intelligence in healthcare, it’s essential to understand the components that comprise EI. There are five main components of emotional intelligence, starting with self-awareness.
1. Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the ability to recognize, identify, and understand the emotions you experience. A self-aware person can monitor how they feel, understand how their feelings can affect their behaviors and choices, and consider how, in turn, those emotions and behaviors can affect other people.
Self-awareness goes beyond the recognition of emotions. It also encompasses honest self-reflection on one’s strengths and limitations. In turn, this encourages one to maintain an open mindset regarding new experiences, concepts, and perspectives.
Self-care for both nursing students and professional nurses is critically important for long-term well-being.
2. Self-Regulation
As important as self-awareness is, it’s only part of the equation. Emotional intelligence in nursing also demands self-regulation. In other words, it’s necessary to practice regulating and managing your own emotions. Emotional regulation is not the same as bottling up your feelings and trying to ignore them. Rather, it involves being able to express feelings in appropriate ways and at appropriate times.
Self-regulation is about holding yourself accountable to high standards. It aids in resolving conflicts and managing emotionally difficult situations. With better self-regulation, you can take control of how your thoughts and feelings may affect other people, such as your patients.
3. Social Skills
Another crucial component of emotional intelligence is social skills. In a nursing workplace, nurses must be able to interact effectively and appropriately with others. Social skills can help nurses develop a good rapport with patients, cultivate positive, trusting relationships, interview patients more effectively, and deliver patient education.
Social skills include:
- Active listening
- Verbal and written communication skills
- Cooperation and teamwork
- Respect for others
- Self-advocacy
- The ability to receive productive criticism with grace
4. Empathy
Empathy is at the heart of the nursing profession. Empathetic nurses can imagine themselves in their patients’ or coworkers’ positions. They consider situations from someone else’s point of view, identify and understand other people’s emotions, and recognize the power dynamics in social relationships.
Empathy is particularly critical for nurse leaders. As a key leadership skill, empathy guides communication, enhances collaboration, and builds strong relationships.
5. Motivation
The last main emotional intelligence skill is motivation. This doesn’t encompass motivation for external rewards, such as professional recognition or a higher salary. Rather, it refers to intrinsic motivation.
Nurses with strong EI are often action-focused. They may set goals, such as higher standards of patient care. They may be committed to professional development beyond the minimum required for the sake of caring for their patients more effectively and to effect positive organizational change. In short, a nurse with strong intrinsic motivation takes the initiative and strives for continual improvement.
Explore the various roles of a registered nurse.
Developing Emotional Intelligence in Healthcare
As a nursing student, you can begin working on your emotional intelligence skills right now. Consider taking the following preliminary steps:
- Keep a journal, such as by recording what happened that day and what your emotional and behavioral response was to it.
- Throughout each day, try to pay better attention to how your emotions fluctuate. Consider what caused the change and how your emotions might be affecting other people.
- Practice refining your communication skills, including active listening, with other members of your nursing cohort. Similarly, try to find ways of working more effectively with team members during labs.
- During labs and clinicals, be receptive to feedback.
After you’ve graduated, you can continue to improve your emotional intelligence. Consider the following tips:
- Work on regulating challenging emotions. Stay mindful of your thoughts and how they affect others.
- Demonstrate a genuine interest in your patients as people. Get to know them and develop a rapport.
- Set professional goals oriented toward providing better patient care.
Develop Crucial Nursing Skills at Concordia University Texas
Concordia University Texas is a faith-based school that teaches both technical and soft skills, encouraging future nurses to develop the emotional intelligence they need to serve their patients well.
If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or at least 60 non-nursing college credits, you may be eligible to attend our ABSN locations in Austin or Dallas-Fort Worth. Alternatively, consider applying to our traditional BSN track, which is designed for high school graduates.
Contact an admissions counselor at Concordia University Texas to get started today.