Abstract
BackgroundThe importance of emotional intelligence (EI) to the success of health professionals has been increasingly acknowledged. Concurrently, medical schools have begun integrating non-cognitive measures in candidate selection processes. The question remains whether these newly added processes correctly assess EI skills.ObjectivesMeasuring EI levels among medical students; examining the correlations between participants’ EI levels and their scores on the non-cognitive MOR test; and exploring students’ attitudes regarding the importance of EI in medical practice.MethodsThe study included 111 first-year and sixth-year students at the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, Haifa, Israel. Emotional intelligence was assessed by the Bar-On EQ-i 2.0, and MOR evaluation scores were provided by the faculty. An additional questionnaire was designed to rate students’ attitudes toward the importance of EI to the success of medical doctors (MDs).ResultsNo significant correlations were found between MOR test scores and EI evaluation scores. Of the 15 EI competencies evaluated, mean scores for flexibility, problem-solving, and independence were lowest for both the first-year and the sixth-year study groups. No differences in EI levels between first-year and sixth-year students were found. Both groups of students considered EI to be highly important to their success as MDs.ConclusionsWhile further studies of the links between MOR tests and EI are required, the current findings indicate that MOR test scores may not be predictive of medical students’ EI levels and vice versa. As previous evidence suggests that EI contributes to professional success and to better outcomes in the field of medicine, integrating it into selection processes for medical students and into the curricula in medical schools is recommended.
Highlights
Emotional IntelligenceEmotional intelligence (EI) deals with the effective integration of emotion and cognition, that is, with the intelligent use of emotions and the use of emotions to improve thought processes.[1]
No differences in emotional intelligence (EI) levels between first-year and sixth-year students were found. Both groups of students considered EI to be highly important to their success as medical doctor. Citation (MD)
While further studies of the links between MOR tests and EI are required, the current findings indicate that MOR test scores may not be predictive of medical students’ EI levels and vice versa
Summary
Emotional IntelligenceEmotional intelligence (EI) deals with the effective integration of emotion and cognition, that is, with the intelligent use of emotions and the use of emotions to improve thought processes.[1]. Social and emotional skills were found to play an important role alongside cognitive skills,[6] to be inseparable from cognitive processes, and to be crucial for effective thought and decision-making processes.[2] many studies have linked EI to physical and psychological health,[3] stress coping and lower burnout rates,[7] professional success,[8,9,10] effective teamwork, and to enhanced leadership skills,[11] across a variety of professions.[3] In the medical arena too, it has been noted that EI plays an important role in the professional success of medical doctors (MDs),[12] including doctor–patient relations, patient satisfaction, accurate diagnosis, adherence to treatment protocols, decrease in lawsuits, teamwork, stresscoping skills, organizational commitment, and medical leadership.[13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23] academic success among medical students has been linked to higher EI levels.[24,25]. Objectives: Measuring EI levels among medical students; examining the correlations between participants’ EI levels and their scores on the non-cognitive MOR test; and exploring students’ attitudes regarding the importance of EI in medical practice. An additional questionnaire was designed to rate students’ attitudes toward the importance of EI to the success of medical doctors (MDs)
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