Emotional Intelligence and Good Medical Practice: Is There a Relationship?

Cameron Dott,George Mamarelis,Kash Akhtar,Kavyansh Bhan,Edward Karam

doi:10.7759/cureus.23126

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) is defined as the ability to perceive and manage the emotions of oneself and others. Despite being one of the most highly used psychological terms in popular nomenclature, its understanding in the context of clinicians remains poor. There is a dearth of literature on this topic, and this submission examines the relationship between a clinicians’ EI and the key domains of “Good Medical Practice” guidelines from the General Medical Council, United Kingdom. It aims to review and critically analyse the existing literature on EI and Good Medical Practice while attempting to establish a relationship between the two.This submission thus examines the relationship between emotional intelligence and a clinician’s on-the-job performance. The findings demonstrate how emotional intelligence can aid the clinician in all aspects of their working life in the context of practising in line with General Medical Council (GMC) guidance. The authors also recommend exploring the possibility of inclusion of EI within a modern medical curriculum, as it may lead to improved practice in clinicians.

Highlights

BackgroundEarly definitions of emotional intelligence (EI) were suggested by Mayer and Salovey in 1990 and Goleman in 1995 [1-2]
The findings demonstrate how emotional intelligence can aid the clinician in all aspects of their working life in the context of practising in line with General Medical Council (GMC) guidance
The findings reported in this review are suggestive of the fact that a doctor with a higher level of Emotional intelligence (EI) may be better suited to practising in line with the GMC Good Medical Practice guidance

Summary

Introduction

BackgroundEarly definitions of emotional intelligence (EI) were suggested by Mayer and Salovey in 1990 and Goleman in 1995 [1-2]. An emotionally intelligent individual would possess the ability to acknowledge their feelings and emotions in a given scenario, remain level headed and decide upon the best course of action and in doing so have the capability to motivate other team members towards their goal. The first theory suggests that EI is a trait with the belief that it is more of an inherent quality in an individual’s character and personality measured through self-report methods while the second theory recognises EI as an ability and a skill that is measured through more objective means [3] This distinction between a trait EI and an ability EI has led to varying tools for its measurement

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion