Emotional intelligence is the capacity to be aware of and manage one’s own emotions and the emotions of others. It includes three skills: emotional awareness, emotional expression management, and emotion regulation. It is being able to be aware of how one is feeling, and being able to express those feelings healthily. Then being able to manage the emotions so that they do not negatively affect one’s day-to-day life. In the presented case, Anna Jiang, Christina Robledo, and Faith Olson are discussing the welfare of their patients in the hospital setup. Christina is showing great care for the patients by reminding other nurses about VAP bundles, while Faith is also showing concern by bringing to other nurses’ attention Maud’s blood gases issue.
In the communication with Christina, the nurses, Faith and Anna, did not demonstrate strong emotional intelligence. The nurses failed to control their emotions or mind how their untamed emotions could affect the other nurse. When Faith mentions that “I am not arguing with you,” it seems that Christina was already getting out of her emotions; similarly, this response sounded rude. On the other hand, Christina fails to manage her emotions and responds to Faith impolitely by stating that “Whatever… do what you are going do”.
Self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and conscience were the key elements of emotional intelligence that were demonstrated in the scenario of Christina, Faith, and Anna. Self-regulation is the ability to manage emotions effectively (Abraham & Scaria, 2017). Anna showcases this when she disagrees with Christina on the fact that she is not aware of the VAP bundle implementation. In this case, Anna disagrees with Christina in a polite way that cannot offend her. Conversely, motivation is the capability to be driven by a desire to achieve a goal; Christina is determined to teach other nurses about the VAP bundle to ensure the welfare of the patients.
Conscience is the capability to do the right thing, even when it is difficult; Christina insists that VAP bundles do not have to be made a policy. Christina is willing to teach other nurses the same to prevent pneumonia. On the other hand, empathy is the capacity to understand and share the feelings of others (Abraham & Scaria, 2017). Christina and Faith are thinking of ways to make patients’ lives better. Christina thinks of applying VAP bundles which entails raising beds by 30-45%, which reduces the risk of pneumonia. Similarly, Faith shows concern by thinking Maud’s blood gas is wrong and proposes for a doctor to be called to rectify it.
The lacking emotional intelligence key component was social skills; it is the ability to build positive relationships with others, navigate social dynamics, and resolve conflicts effectively. This skill allows people to interact with others effectively and understand their feelings and emotions (Abraham & Scaria, 2017). If social skills were present, Faith would have asked Christina how the idea of the VAP bundle could reach the management team and the value it could have added to the patients and the hospital. This would have been a respectful way for Faith to react to Christina’s intelligent proposal, which would have prevented Christina from getting offended. Christina proposed a good way to better patients’ health: VAP bundle implementation, ensuring washing of hands, and good oral care.
I believe that I can identify and understand others’ emotions. My emotional intelligence helps me to read people and understand their feelings. I manage this by reading people well to tell when someone is upset or angry, then using my emotional intelligence to respond in a way that diffuses the situation. Moreover, I am capable of controlling my emotions when dealing with others. My emotional intelligence is quite high, and I can regulate my emotions to maintain constructive interactions. This allows me to effectively manage relationships, both personally and professionally. Additionally, by remaining in control of my emotions, I am less likely to act impulsively or make rash decisions.
The strongest element of my emotional intelligence is my ability to empathize with people, which enables me to put myself in other people’s shoes and understand their perspectives. This allows me to build better relationships and communicate more effectively. Finally, I am good at reading emotions, which gives me an edge in anticipating people’s needs and desires. I would like to improve my self-awareness and my ability to manage my emotions. I think that if I were more aware of my emotional reactions and triggers, I could better manage them in challenging situations such as during death.
Regarding the examples that illustrate my self-assessment, I have acted as a mediator among my friends who were angry at one another. The conflict was almost leading to a physical fight, but on my arrival, I managed to calm the situation by emphatically listening and using polite words. I was convinced that I am capable of controlling my emotions when interacting with others during my friends’ conflict resolution. The friend whose property was stolen was beating the other friend; in the process of stopping the fight, I also got hit, but I did not retaliate by hitting back. Concerning empathy and emotional reading as my strongest emotional intelligence element, I one time came across a patient who lost his money after receiving treatment. Even though the cashier insisted that the boy was a con because he was stammering due to tension, I could see his genuineness and decided to pay to solve the conflict.
Self-awareness is the ability of someone to accurately perceive their feelings and emotions. It is important for healthcare leaders because it allows them to recognize their emotional responses when dealing with patients and staff and adjust their behavior accordingly (Abraham & Scaria, 2017). Similarly, it helps them to understand how their emotions impact their interactions with others, as well as identify any personal triggers that might lead to an emotional outburst or inappropriately defensive reaction. Conversely, it aids these healthcare leaders in taking steps to manage their own emotions more effectively in difficult situations. Generally, developing self-awareness is an ongoing process that requires reflection, honesty, and a willingness to accept feedback from others.
Social awareness is the understanding of why others are feeling the way they are at a given point. It involves being able to read other people’s emotions and understand their points of view. Healthcare executives can better understand their patients and employees by cultivating social awareness abilities (Hodzic et al., 2018). It also allows them to better manage interactions with others, respond effectively to difficult situations, and build strong relationships. Strong relationships are key to creating a positive work environment and provide the foundation for successful patient care.
Self-management is a critical component of emotional intelligence; it is the capability of someone to manage their emotions and behaviors to achieve desired outcomes. There are countless examples of how poor self-management can lead to disastrous consequences in health care. For instance, a leader who cannot control their own emotions may struggle to make difficult decisions under pressure or be unable to build constructive relationships with other members of the team. Relationship management involves leaders being able to develop positive relationships with those around them, both subordinates and superiors. Gaining expertise in this field is crucial for healthcare executives as it enables them to comprehend and sympathize with their colleagues more effectively (Hodzic et al., 2018). This can help create a more positive work environment and can lead to better communication and effective conflict resolution.
If I was one of the nurses in the Vila Health simulation, I would have communicated using polite vocabulary to show my respectful disagreement. For example, in the case of training other nurses, I would have stated that “Sure, you have a great point, but we can push it to be under company policy in the future.” In this way, Christina would not have noticed that Faith directly disagreed with her by mentioning that her point was senseless. In the case of Anna agreeing with Faith, I would have said, “Faith, you are right, but Christina has a serious point that needs to be considered.” This would have made Christina not feel that the two were against her. Overall, I believe that the organizational culture of the hospital is poor, especially in emotional management. The staff members are disrespectful to one another and do not mind their emotional impact on one another. I would highly recommend that Vila management organizes leadership training for its employees regarding emotional intelligence.
In healthcare organizations, emotional intelligence has a significant impact on the relationships and communication effectiveness between nurses and patients. Nurses with high emotional intelligence are better able to understand the emotions of their patients, communicate effectively, and build positive relationships (Abraham & Scaria, 2017). This leads to improved patient satisfaction, compliance with treatment plans, and overall outcomes. Emotional intelligence can be used in healthcare institutions to improve cultural competence in several ways. First is by helping staff to understand their own emotions and reactions and to be aware of how their emotions might affect their interactions with patients and colleagues from other cultures (Hodzic et al., 2018). The second is to encourage staff to explore their personal beliefs and values and to understand how these might influence their interactions with patients and colleagues from other cultures. Then lastly by promoting open communication and dialogues about cultural differences in a safe and non-judgmental environment.
According to Vila Health simulation, teamwork and collaboration are not valued; this is based on how the nurses communicate amongst themselves. In a healthy team, communication remains respectful and curtailed to bring positive change (Kotsou et al., 2019). Emotional intelligence can be used to improve teamwork and collaboration by helping individuals to better understand their own emotions and the emotions of others. By comprehending this, the nurses get to know the kind of responses that will annoy Christina emotionally and avoid them. When the team works without annoyance and hatred, teamwork and collaboration get better. Additionally, emotionally intelligent people are often good at empathy, which can also help to improve teamwork (Abraham & Scaria, 2017). This is because empathy fosters trust, communication, and respect, which are essential for a functional team. Moreover, communication with respect will prevent or manage conflicts between Christina and other nurses, thus ensuring stronger teamwork and collaboration.
References
Abraham, J., & Scaria, J. (2017). Emotional intelligence: The context for successful nursing leadership: A literature review. Nurse Care Open Access Journal, 2(6), 160-164. Web.
Hodzic, S., Scharfen, J., Ripoll, P., Holling, H., & Zenasni, F. (2018). How efficient are emotional intelligence trainings: A meta-analysis. Emotion Review, 10(2), 138-148. Web.
Kotsou, I., Mikolajczak, M., Heeren, A., Grégoire, J., & Leys, C. (2019). Improving emotional intelligence: A systematic review of existing work and future challenges. Emotion Review, 11(2), 151-165. Web.
