Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to use emotions to communicate with and relate to others effectively and productively. EQ is the capacity to recognize behavior, attitude, and emotions in oneself and in others. It entails using emotions that enable a person to comprehend feelings and perform actions accordingly (Fteiha & Awwad, 2020). EQ is critical to success in personal and professional settings, especially in health care. Health care leaders with high EQ can manage critical situations more effectively and improve the organization’s performance.
Part 1: Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman, a scholar, described four dimensions of EQ. It includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management (Dong et al., 2022). Self-awareness refers to identifying and comprehending one’s emotions, strengths, and drawbacks. It helps in improving the overall performance by working on the weakness. The second dimension is self-management which entails the management of emotion and thought to achieve the set goals. For instance, managing stress through meditation is an example of a self-managing situation (Fteiha & Awwad, 2020).
Social awareness is the capability to comprehend emotions and viewpoints of others. The dimension helps in executing empathetic behavior to others after understanding their feelings and emotions in a particular situation. Relationship management entails the individual ability to manage relationships with others. It includes clear communication, building relationships, and resolving conflicts. For instance, communication with patients and healthcare professionals will help develop a good relationship by practicing EQ (Pajouyhan et al., 2019).
Discussing Vila Health Simulation Scenario
The scene related to the interaction between the healthcare personnel in the pediatric care unit (PICU) of St. Anthony Medical Center. In the first interaction, Christina Robledo, a respiratory therapist, interacted with two nurses, Anna Jiang, and Faith Olson, in PICU. The patient’s blood readings showed inconsistency, so Faith told Christina to call the physician to modify the treatment plan. However, Christina disagreed with Faith’s suggestion and refused to call the physician as it was unnecessary. In contrast, Anna complied with Faith to call the physician for an opinion. The lack of collaboration between Christina and the two nurses may worsen the patient’s health outcomes.
In the second interaction between Christina and the two nurses, the respiratory therapist informed the nurses of the safety precautions that the bed was not aligned, contributing to pneumonia. Christina told nurses that physicians did not include the point in patient documentation, but we worked on it to reduce the complaint. However, Anna reported that she did not find an indication in the patient’s documentation by a physician that it lowers the incidence of pneumonia. Anna asked Christina if the method had been followed there without physician instruction. Christina retaliated and informed me that even though it is not mentioned in the instruction, I am guiding you to take the necessary steps to improve patient care outcomes. Anna and Faith argued with Christina and informed her that they only followed the tasks listed in the instruction.
Christina found it offensive and said that raising the bed level was a simple practice that improved the patient’s condition. The sole reason is to prevent pneumonia. Faith retaliated that they would not follow the guidelines out of the books. Christina lost her temper and said we could not have nurses following instructions from a poor RT. Do whatever you want, but the main reason is to align to the bed to prevent pneumonia.
Key Elements of EQ from Scenario
According to the scenario, the first interaction informed that Christina did not show compliance with the nurse’s suggestion to call the physician. Christina seems to struggle with “self-awareness,” as she claims she knows what she is doing. The statement makes the nurse Faith and Anna speechless, and they find the dominating behavior of Christina as Christina opposes their suggestion to call a physician to monitor the patient.
Christina suggested raising the bed level to prevent pneumonia in the second interaction. Still, nurses replied that they did not find any indication to do so in the patient documentation. The reply to offended Christina, and she showed aggressive behavior towards nurses, which showed a lack of social awareness and relationship management dimensions of EQ.
The nurses employed EQ skills and they used self-management skills when Christina acted aggressively. Self-management helped the nurses stay calm and respond professionally. The missing element of EQ was relationship management. The disagreement between the respiratory therapist and the two nurses needed effective communication to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, the two parties stuck to their opinions which deterred them from producing a common decision. If both parties used EQ skills appropriately, they could solve the challenging situation.
Part 2: Emotional Intelligence Self-Evaluation
After comprehending the dimension of EQ, I self-evaluated my skills. I have worked in a healthcare organization as a nurse assistant for one year. I deal with different patients and coworkers belonging to diverse cultures and backgrounds. While providing care to the patient in the Intensive care Unit (ICU), I discovered that the patient was apprehensive about the care protocol designed by the healthcare team. I approached the patient and used an active listening approach to understand the patient’s fear related to treatment. The patient informed me that he belongs to a different culture and wants a culturally appropriate treatment approach. Due to the communication barrier, the patient needed help to provide details to the practitioner. The interaction helped me understand the patient’s thoughts and emotions, and I delivered the information to the practitioner, who modified the treatment according to the patient’s cultural needs and demands.
At my workplace, I have encountered numerous difficult situations while discussing the plan of care with my colleagues and other healthcare professionals. As an assistant, the seniors ignored my suggestion which made me demotivated. At that time, I could manage my emotions using the self-management dimension of EQ. I utilize the stress management techniques such as deep breathing to control my emotions and respond professionally to a particular situation (Mao et al., 2021).
I am good with self-management and social awareness dimension of EQ, as I can comprehend my feelings and manage prejudice with appropriate self-management techniques. Additionally, I am also able to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, which helps me to execute empathetic behavior. However, relationship management is a task which needs improvement. There is a need to use communication and collaboration strategies to build strong relationships with the healthcare professional.
Part 3: Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Health Care Leaders
Reasons for Health Care Leaders to Develop EQ Skills
Developing skills in EQ dimensions is vital for healthcare leaders as it facilitates improving team performance and fostering a constructive work environment. The healthcare leader improves patient outcomes and the organization’s success by executing EQ skills.
The development of self-awareness skills helps healthcare leaders to understand their own biases, values, and emotions. It helps make informed decisions and respond to challenging situations effectively. Additionally, self-aware healthcare leaders can better manage their stress and avoid burnout, leading to better patient outcomes. Developing self-management skills empowers the leader to demonstrate the best practice for managing their thoughts and emotions in a well-mannered way (Monroe et al., 2021). It also makes it easier to stay composed in challenging circumstances and manage stress independently without affecting performance. Healthcare leaders can also educate others on self-management strategies to help foster a healthy work environment (Mabon et al., 2022).
Social awareness skills are quite important for understanding the behavior of other people. It helps individuals show empathetic behavior to others and build stronger relationships with team members. This understanding helps colleagues work collaboratively and improve health outcomes (Moudatsou et al., 2020). In addition, the relevant skill also helps create an inclusive work environment, leading to higher job satisfaction and increasing team performance. The need for relationship management skills is important as it helps leaders effectively communicate and resolve queries. A good relationship between the healthcare team helps work collaboratively to improve care standards and patient outcomes. These skills help the leader foster relationships with other team members and provide motivation to work toward a shared vision (Monroe et al., 2021).
Impact of EQ on Relationship and Communication in Healthcare
EQ plays a crucial role in making communication effective and building strong relationships between the healthcare professionals in the organization. Healthcare professionals possessing superior EQ skills can manage critical situations by analyzing self-emotion and behavior and thereby understanding that of others (Carminati, 2021).
The social awareness dimension of EQ helps healthcare leaders to make a collaborative decision in a difficult time and practice empathetic behavior to understand the perspective of other team members in the healthcare setting. In addition, EQ skills also emphasize that leaders connect with the patient and understand their healthcare needs to bring positive outcomes (Cavaness et al., 2020). They are more likely to empathize with their patients, colleagues, and other stakeholders in the healthcare system. It facilitates understanding and considering other feelings, leading to better communication and positive outcomes. Registered nurses with EQ skills can manage their emotions and understand and have compassion towards others behavior. It helps nurses identify the patient’s needs and provide care accordingly. Empathetic behavior helps nurses build trust with their patients, which leads to improved health outcomes (Babaii et al., 2021).
Healthcare professionals with EQ skills, especially in self-management and relationship management domains, help in fostering an inclusive work environment. These skills help the leader comprehend different situations independently and take the initiative to resolve the conflict (Gilar et al., 2019). Effective communication is vital in healthcare organizations to provide high-quality care to patients and deter medical errors. Leaders communicate with the team, understand team members’ perspectives, and devise a shared vision (Shrivastava et al., 2022). Collaborative work helps in enhancing the good relationship between healthcare professionals and ultimately improves team performance. For instance, a physician responsible for devising the treatment plan will collaborate with other team members to comprehend the different aspects of the treatment plan. It helps the interdisciplinary team to work for a shared vision and improve health outcomes. The increased communication between the professionals helps in building strong connections among the members, which fosters good relationships (Gilar et al., 2019).
Viewpoint According to Vila Health Simulation
Using EQ and being the nurse in the Vila Health scenario, the active listening approach would help understand Christina Robledo’s concerns. Communicating with Christina and asking open-ended questions to comprehend her perspective and Christina’s feelings. This approach would help develop a collaborative work environment in PICU and improve health care outcomes.
The Vila health simulation identifies the need to adopt a diverse culture to improve health care results. There needs to be more collaboration among the healthcare personnel, which leads to conflict and low decision-making. There is a need to educate EQ skills through educational sessions to enhance understanding of EQ. It helps develop strong relationships and create an inclusive work environment.
Impact of EQ on Cultural Competence in Health Care Setting
Cultural competence is comprehending different people’s diverse beliefs, values, and norms. The information helps the leader to provide care to different people while paying attention to the cultural customs and treatment options. EQ skills play a major role in promoting cultural competence in healthcare settings. The four dimensions of EQ help understand the different cultural beliefs (Bru et al., 2021).
Self-awareness helps healthcare providers to recognize their prejudices and understand the impact of these biases on patient care. By understanding the different aspects of culture, healthcare providers focus on integrating the appropriate cultural practices to enhance patient satisfaction and health outcomes. It helps foster an inclusive work environment that will be appreciated by diverse people, increasing the financial growth of the healthcare organization (Stubbe, 2020). For example, the healthcare practitioner understands the prejudice against a specific culture and takes measures to overcome that bias to provide culturally sensitive care. It involves comprehending the patient’s cultural background and integrating cultural practices according to the patient to improve the outcomes (Červený et al., 2022).
The social awareness dimension of EQ also facilitates executing empathetic behavior toward other people after knowing the cultural beliefs. It helps the leaders appreciate patients’ perspectives from different cultural backgrounds and the associated anticipation of receiving the care they choose. Thus, EQ helps provide care services that adhere to people’s cultural beliefs and norms (Moloney et al., 2020). Likewise, healthcare providers who possess skills of EQ, specifically in the relationship management dimension, can build strong connections with patients from diverse cultures. These skills help practice diversity and overcome language barriers and other challenges by focusing on their cultural beliefs (Kaihlanen et al., 2019). For example, nurses with high EQ skills understand the patient’s cultural background and modify the care plan to improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes. Using educational material in multiple languages and practicing culturally appropriate practices increases patient satisfaction in healthcare organizations. EQ skills help healthcare personnel provide culturally competent care thereby improving patient outcomes (Babaii et al., 2021).
EQ Promoting Team Collaboration in Culturally Diverse Organization
EQ dimension facilitates teamwork and collaboration by fostering relationships between team members in healthcare organizations. EQ skills in self-awareness and social awareness dimension help the leader execute empathetic behavior, which will help build strong relationships. These skills help people understand their behavior and that of others and facilitate collaborative decisions (Cavaness et al., 2020). The management of different situations and comprehension of behavior boost teamwork as people understand the viewpoint of culturally diverse organizations. For example, a healthcare team with diverse team members in a healthcare organization delivers different approaches to resolving the conflict and integrating the best possible solution. EQ skills help in making sound decisions after comprehending the need. It boosts team collaboration, and the members focus on providing an effective solution to increase the organization’s performance (Mindeguia et al., 2021).
The relationship management dimension of EQ helps the leader in an organization to manage conflict by communicating with one another. Cultural differences may lead to challenging situations, so there is a need to address the conflict and implement a solution. EQ skills help respectfully manage the conflict and boost teamwork to bring positive outcomes (Aseery et al., 2023). Effective communication plays a vital role in fostering a collaborative environment as the skills provide different styles of communication to overcome the language barrier. It helps build trust with team members from diverse backgrounds and improves the team’s performance. For example, nurses possessing EQ skills learn about the cultural beliefs and norms of team members and integrate the communication style to fulfill the needs of all team members (Rodríguez et al., 2022). Communication plays a major role in enhancing teamwork, so adapting different communication styles, such as using different languages or translating applications, eases the communication flow between the team (Shrivastava et al., 2022). Thus, EQ helps in improving teamwork and collaboration by creating an inclusive work environment in a culturally diverse organization.
Perspective According to Vila Health Simulation
Teamwork is not valued in the Vila health simulation as the nurses and respiratory therapists have their logical reason that hampers from making a collaborative decision. EQ comprises four major dimensions that help healthcare professionals understand their feelings and that of others. Christina and the nurses must work on self-awareness to understand empathy and the significance of human interaction (Younas et al., 2019). It helps to identify prejudices and overcome barriers to effective collaboration. Both parties improve their social awareness by practicing an active listening approach that helps show empathy towards each other. Likewise, relationship management skills also facilitate making a collaborative decision and resolving conflict without insulting the feelings of the opposite party (Aseery et al., 2023). By working on EQ, Christina and the nurse can create a more supportive working relationship to improve quality of patient care.
Conclusion BHA FPX 4102 Assessment 2 Emotional Intelligence
EQ is an important skillset; it facilitates healthcare leaders in recognizing self-intellectual capacity and comprehend other people’s intellect and builds stronger relationships. Healthcare professionals practice empathetic behavior under the social awareness dimension to develop strong bonds with the team. Healthcare leaders possess higher EQ skills and can control their emotions and make decisions more effectively in difficult situations. Integrating EQ into healthcare practice enhances patient outcomes and increases organizational performance.
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