Letter of the Day | Emotional intelligence necessary for compassionate patient care
Published:Tuesday | December 24, 2024 | 12:06 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton’s renewed call for more compassionate care in the public health sector should be supported. However, if our nurses and doctors do not receive ongoing training and support in developing greater emotional intelligence, patients will continue to receive suboptimal treatment.
Emotional intelligence, particularly in this context, refers to healthcare professionals’ ability to recognise, understand, communicate, and manage their emotions. It also encompasses their capacity to identify their patients’ emotions and respond compassionately. Research has shown that emotional intelligence can enhance empathy, stress management, teamwork, and interpersonal communication in and outside the medical field. Hence, clinicians with higher emotional intelligence tend to experience better personal and occupational well-being and deliver higher-quality patient care.
Medical journals have further revealed that when clinicians are mentored by more experienced colleagues, they are less likely to feel stressed and burnt out. Their mentors can model emotionally intelligent behaviours for them, provide constructive feedback on observed clinician-patient interactions, and recommend alternative patient-care approaches, when necessary. Mentees, in turn, can share their challenges with their mentors and access job-embedded support. Therefore, all relevant hospital personnel should consider implementing a professional mentorship programme for their staff, if one is not already in place.
In-service hospital training could also include workshops and self-paced courses that focus on stress management, emotion regulation, bedside manners, and conflict resolution. Case study analyses, role-plays, and instructional videos may be integrated into the training to encourage attendees to reflect on their practice and develop actionable plans for professional improvement.
Given the psychosocial demands of their work, healthcare professionals should also be allowed more time to attend private counselling – online, face-to-face, during the week, and on weekends. These sessions can help them to healthily process and manage their emotions, so they can gradually deliver the compassionate care their patients desire and deserve.
SHAWNA KAY
WILLIAMS-PINNOCK