Emotional Intelligence among the Health Care Providers Working in a Tertiary Level Hospital

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to be aware of and control one's emotions and empathize with others. EI is essential for the well-being of a health care provider and their professional practice. A health care provider’s empathy is important in building a strong relationship with the patient which results in enhanced positive service outcomes. Emotional intelligence competence can be acquired through training and implementation in our own life. As every person is unique, he or she needs to learn concepts that will be suitable for him or her. The objective of the study is to assess the emotional intelligence among health care providers working in a tertiary level hospital and also to understand the association of emotional intelligence with demographic variables of work experience and age of health care providers working in a tertiary level hospital. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was conducted in the Tertiary Level Hospital of Kathmandu District, Nepal to assess the emotional intelligence among health care providers. Through convenience non-probability sampling technique 100 health care providers were selected and to assess the status of emotional intelligence Standard Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) was used. Results of the study revealed that the highest forty per cent of the respondents have a low level of emotional intelligence and only thirty-two per cent of respondents have a high level of emotional intelligence. Lower in the level of EI among the health workers may be due to the lack of awareness on EI There was also significant association between the level of emotional intelligence with the respondent’s age (p= 0.003). which shows with the increasing age, individuals have different working exposures that improve in their maturity, which may support increasing the level of EI, and there is no significant association with respondent’s working experience.