The Effect of Multimethodological Emotional Intelligence Training on Emotional Intelligence Levels in Nurses at an Academic Medical Center

Background: Stress levels associated with the nursing career can be amplified by hostile social environments in the workplace, horizontal aggression, lack of leadership support, and poor communication. This can lead to poor retention rates and increased burnout. Conversely, supportive work environments positively influence nursing sensitive quality indicators such as patient satisfaction, nosocomial infections, patient falls, pressure ulcers, and medication errors. Strong relationships enhance workplace social capital leading to an increased sense of belonging, strengthened mental health, and improved job satisfaction ratings. Executive nurse leaders can promote an empowering environment dedicated to the physical, mental, and social well-being of their staff by providing emotional intelligence training to nurture teamwork, communication, collaboration, and resilience. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the effect of multimethodological emotional intelligence training on emotional intelligence levels in nurses at an academic medical center. Methodology: The study implemented a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design. Twenty-one clinical nurse specialists were invited to participate in the eight-week study in which participants completed two 45-minute emotional intelligence training sessions (Week 1 and Week 4) and weekly exercises. Reflection Exercises were designed to assist participants to engage with the material and implement lessons learned from the training sessions. Emotional intelligence levels were measured before and after the training using the TEIQue-SF. A paired samples t-test was used to evaluate changes in emotional intelligence levels before and after the educational intervention. Results: Fifteen participants completed the initial survey and took part in the educational sessions. Post intervention analysis was based on ten (n = 10) participants who responded to the final survey. Analysis was conducted on the global emotional intelligence scores and the four factors of emotional intelligence including well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability. There were no statistically significant changes noted to the global score or to the four factors. Discussion: The study’s sample was made up of a group of highly experienced and well-educated Clinical Nurse Specialists. The groups’ initial emotional intelligence scores were above average leaving little room for improvement. The difference between the pre-tests and the post-tests were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The study did not show a statistically significant change in the emotional intelligence levels of the participants