How and when should medical schools teach Emotional Intelligence?
How and when should medical schools teach Emotional Intelligence?
By Marena Keci and Naomi Gitlin
Several studies suggest that Emotional Intelligence (EI) is important in healthcare delivery: from reducing physician burnout and improving collaboration and teamwork to increasing patient satisfaction. But when is the optimal time for medical students to learn about EI (self- and social-awareness and self- and relationship management) and begin developing their EI skills? And how might medical schools incorporate EI into their already dense curriculum to teach future physicians how to apply EI in their training and practice?
Through their research, M4s Julia Versel and Alexandra Plezia teamed up with Stritch Professor and Assistant Director of Advising Dr. Ramzan Shahid, to provide some answers to these questions. Recently published in Advances in Medical Education and Practice, "Emotional Intelligence and Resilience "PROGRAM" Improves Wellbeing and Stress Management Skills in Preclinical Medical Students", analyzes the results of an EI elective for Stritch M2s. The team’s research is novel because it focuses on teaching EI to physicians-in-training in their pre-clinical years.
Seventy M2s took the elective over two academic years (2021-22 and 2022-23). The research team evaluated students’ EI using the validated Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 assessment tool (EQ-i 2.0®), both pre- and post-elective. The study found that the mean EI score improved significantly on all levels and subscales of EQ-i 2.0®. Compared to the pre-elective EI scores, participants showed improvement on all five EI composite scales, all 15 content subscales, and their well-being scores. In a post-elective survey measuring participants’ impressions of the elective, 95% reported it was beneficial and that it should be offered again; 93% said they would recommend the course to others.
"EI aligns with Stritch’s Jesuit values of caring for the whole person, taking time for self-reflection, and having the opportunity to connect in an interpersonal way to understand the spirit of who someone is," said Versel.
Before entering Stritch, Versel worked at a healthcare company where she learned about EI through a leadership development program. As an M1, she attended a lecture hosted by Stritch’s Student Wellness Advisory Group, where Shahid discussed the importance of EI in healthcare. Versel and Plezia were inspired by Shahid’s EI work with residents and collaborated with him to develop an EI elective, incorporating EI into the curriculum for the first time.
"Without Dr. Shahid’s drive, neither the course nor the research would have been possible," said Plezia. "His contagious passion for supporting medical students and mentoring others to enhance their EI provided the foundation on which both were built. He empowered us to bring creative ideas to the table and helped us build them out and grow," she said.
The topics of the elective stem from the philosophy of psychologist and author Daniel Goleman and his four pillars of EI: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. EI requires the ability to understand one’s self in the context of other people so that individuals can make decisions that are attuned to themselves and to others. The EI and Resilience elective addresses several topics in six sessions, including:
- Overview of EI
- Using EI skills to develop resilience
- Positive thinking, Reframing, Optimism, Gratitude, Reflection, Altruism, Meaning (PROGRAM)
- Finding meaning and purpose, social support, relationships, mentors
- Self-care strategies, mindfulness, and meditation
- Self-compassion
Post-session assignments allow participants to assess their EI skills, write gratitude and self-care logs, self-reflection essays, and a thank you letter to a mentor.
Learning EI during the pre-clinical years helps ensure that participants have EI skills as they transition to their clinical clerkships in their M3 year. Additionally, because M2s have completed a year of medical school, they are in a better position to pursue and get the most out of the elective.
"Learning EI can help improve coping skills and relationship-building skills – both of which are part of life-long learning to help physicians-in-training deal more effectively with stressful and emotionally charged situations," said Shahid.
The research team’s next step: assess and analyze EI retention data in the original cohort to see how M3s, M4s, and physicians retain EI.
"I hope that EI will be an essential professional skill, but more importantly, a personal skill and characteristic that people practice as they progress in their field," said Versel. "I want students to see themselves as more than doctors – but as individuals -- and use these skills for their own self-improvement, well-being, and resilience," she said.
February 2024
By Marena Keci and Naomi Gitlin
Several studies suggest that Emotional Intelligence (EI) is important in healthcare delivery: from reducing physician burnout and improving collaboration and teamwork to increasing patient satisfaction. But when is the optimal time for medical students to learn about EI (self- and social-awareness and self- and relationship management) and begin developing their EI skills? And how might medical schools incorporate EI into their already dense curriculum to teach future physicians how to apply EI in their training and practice?
Through their research, M4s Julia Versel and Alexandra Plezia teamed up with Stritch Professor and Assistant Director of Advising Dr. Ramzan Shahid, to provide some answers to these questions. Recently published in Advances in Medical Education and Practice, "Emotional Intelligence and Resilience "PROGRAM" Improves Wellbeing and Stress Management Skills in Preclinical Medical Students", analyzes the results of an EI elective for Stritch M2s. The team’s research is novel because it focuses on teaching EI to physicians-in-training in their pre-clinical years.
Seventy M2s took the elective over two academic years (2021-22 and 2022-23). The research team evaluated students’ EI using the validated Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 assessment tool (EQ-i 2.0®), both pre- and post-elective. The study found that the mean EI score improved significantly on all levels and subscales of EQ-i 2.0®. Compared to the pre-elective EI scores, participants showed improvement on all five EI composite scales, all 15 content subscales, and their well-being scores. In a post-elective survey measuring participants’ impressions of the elective, 95% reported it was beneficial and that it should be offered again; 93% said they would recommend the course to others.
"EI aligns with Stritch’s Jesuit values of caring for the whole person, taking time for self-reflection, and having the opportunity to connect in an interpersonal way to understand the spirit of who someone is," said Versel.
Before entering Stritch, Versel worked at a healthcare company where she learned about EI through a leadership development program. As an M1, she attended a lecture hosted by Stritch’s Student Wellness Advisory Group, where Shahid discussed the importance of EI in healthcare. Versel and Plezia were inspired by Shahid’s EI work with residents and collaborated with him to develop an EI elective, incorporating EI into the curriculum for the first time.
"Without Dr. Shahid’s drive, neither the course nor the research would have been possible," said Plezia. "His contagious passion for supporting medical students and mentoring others to enhance their EI provided the foundation on which both were built. He empowered us to bring creative ideas to the table and helped us build them out and grow," she said.
The topics of the elective stem from the philosophy of psychologist and author Daniel Goleman and his four pillars of EI: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. EI requires the ability to understand one’s self in the context of other people so that individuals can make decisions that are attuned to themselves and to others. The EI and Resilience elective addresses several topics in six sessions, including:
- Overview of EI
- Using EI skills to develop resilience
- Positive thinking, Reframing, Optimism, Gratitude, Reflection, Altruism, Meaning (PROGRAM)
- Finding meaning and purpose, social support, relationships, mentors
- Self-care strategies, mindfulness, and meditation
- Self-compassion
Post-session assignments allow participants to assess their EI skills, write gratitude and self-care logs, self-reflection essays, and a thank you letter to a mentor.
Learning EI during the pre-clinical years helps ensure that participants have EI skills as they transition to their clinical clerkships in their M3 year. Additionally, because M2s have completed a year of medical school, they are in a better position to pursue and get the most out of the elective.
"Learning EI can help improve coping skills and relationship-building skills – both of which are part of life-long learning to help physicians-in-training deal more effectively with stressful and emotionally charged situations," said Shahid.
The research team’s next step: assess and analyze EI retention data in the original cohort to see how M3s, M4s, and physicians retain EI.
"I hope that EI will be an essential professional skill, but more importantly, a personal skill and characteristic that people practice as they progress in their field," said Versel. "I want students to see themselves as more than doctors – but as individuals -- and use these skills for their own self-improvement, well-being, and resilience," she said.
February 2024