Emotional intelligence among medical undergraduates, interns, postgraduates, and medical practitioners

Abstract

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) impacts many different aspects of daily life, such as the way one behaves and interacts with others. Empathy, one of the five elements of EI, is considered to be the most important psychosocial factor of inpatient care. An assessment of EI and empathy would help health-care professionals give better patient-centered care. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to assess the various components of EI among medical students and professionals and study its relation with personal and social factors. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with a sample that consists of 200 participants in Mamata Medical College, Khammam and Pratima Medical College, Karimnagar, Telangana during a period of 6 months (2018). A semi-structured pro forma is used to collect sociodemographic profile and the emotional quotient self-assessment checklist by Sterrett is used to measure EI and empathy. Results: There is a significant negative correlation between work hours and empathy, individuals with lesser work hours scored higher on empathy and social competence. There is also a significant negative correlation between motivation and sleep hours, individuals with more number of sleep hours scored lesser on motivation. Those who exercised scored higher on self-awareness and social competence as compared to those who never exercised. Individuals with a greater number of friends in the workplace scored significantly higher in confidence and motivation. Conclusion: The current study supports that good work relations, empathy, and exercise have a positive correlation with various domains of EI.

Keywords

• emotional intelligence
• emotional quotient self-assessment
• empathy
• medical professionals