Relationship Between Nursing Students’ Emotional Intelligence and Their Clinical Performance During Obstetrics and Gynaecologic Nursing Practical Training

Abstract

Nursing and midwifery are stressful professions due to the requirements of patients’ care. They require a high degree of self-regulation and emotional intelligence (EI). The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between nursing students' EI and their clinical performance during obstetrics and gynecologic nursing practical training. A descriptive correlational research design was utilized. The study was conducted at the faculty of nursing, Benha University. A convenience sample of all third year female students (N=98) who were registered at reproductive health nursing course at the time of study was included. Two tools were used for data collection; first tool is a structured interview schedule to collect data about the subjects' demographic characteristics and the Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test. Second tool for clinical performance evaluation it composed of performance checklist for different obstetrics and gynecologic nursing procedures and evaluation of supportive clinical performance skills. There was a positive correlation (p<0.05) between students' EI and their total clinical performance skills. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant relation (p>0.05) between students EI and their demographic characteristics. It can be concluded that there was a significant positive correlation between students' EI and their clinical performance skills. The topic of EI should be included as a basic component of nursing curriculum in order to develop students’ EI abilities. Furthermore, Training courses and seminars about EI should be conducted for the nursing educators in order to develop and improve their own and students’ EI skills.