Scoping review: the emotional intelligence of nurses in the clinical care environment

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses experience different feelings and emotions in their daily clinical practice. The complexity of the environment of the clinical care requires the development of nurses’ emotional intelligence (EI). Goleman [1,2] establishes a model of EI which became popular as it may be applied in a range of variety of work contexts. Therefore, the aim of this Scoping Review is to map out and analyse the scientific evidence regarding the concept of nurses’ emotional intelligence and the clinical care environment.

Methods: From 245 articles identified in the databases, 53 were removed by the analysis of the titles and the abstracts. There were analyzed 12 full papers and were included 6 articles in the Scoping Review of the Literature. The first step was to search at CINAHL and MEDLINE databases with the following keywords: emotional intelligence, work environment, hospitals, nurses. Secondly, a search with all the keywords and index terms previously identified was undertaken across all the databases mentioned above. Additionally (and in order to complete the last step) new studies were identified according to the reference list of all the reports selected. The eligibility criteria included the studies that examined the emotional intelligence of nurses and the clinical care environment. Data extraction and analysis of the studies were based on The Joanna Briggs Institute criteria’s.

Results: Three key themes emerged: (1) Nurses’ emotional intelligence: behaviors of emotional competence are desirable for building strong teams and for working in multidisciplinary environment. It was analyzed through self-awareness, emotion management, self-motivation, empathy and relationship management capabilities [1]; (2) EI relationship with the clinical practice environment: higher EI scores in nurses are associated with better performance, commitment, retention, longer career, better care outcomes, work well-being and lower burnout [2–5]; (3) EI development strategies: they were verified by relationship management, development of self-awareness, communication techniques and focus group [1,3,6].

Discussion and conclusions: EI can be applied in the clinical care practice during the interaction with patients and their family, along the management of relationships between colleagues and dealing with ideological and organizational requirements, differences and conflicts [3,6]. EI can be trained, measured and improved in order to promote an environment of respect and care, built by better communication, relationships and professional outcomes [1]. The EI capabilities model can provide leaders and managers with a framework for developing changes in clinical practice and workplace demands innovation [1,4].