Critical care nurses' emotional intelligence: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Emotional intelligence (EI) involves understanding and managing one's own emotions and recognizing and influencing the emotions of others.
• EI is increasingly recognized as a vital competency for healthcare professionals, particularly in high-stress environments.
• Critical care nursing demands high levels of emotional regulation and interpersonal skills due to the intensity of patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map the existing evidence on the emotional intelligence of nurses working in critical care settings.
• To identify the key themes and implications of emotional intelligence within this specific nursing context.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review methodology, guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) principles, was employed.
• The review considered nurses as the population (P), critical care as the context (C), and emotional intelligence as the concept (C).
• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases, yielding nine relevant articles for inclusion.

Main Results:

• The reviewed literature consistently emphasizes the significant relevance of emotional intelligence in critical care nursing practice.
• Emotional intelligence is linked to enhanced professional experience, effective prevention of emotional exhaustion and burnout.
• EI contributes to a stronger safety culture for patients and fosters positive organizational citizenship behavior and resilience among nurses.

Conclusions:

• Emotional intelligence is a fundamental competency for critical care nurses, with far-reaching professional, personal, and organizational benefits.
• Developing and supporting EI in critical care nurses is essential for optimizing performance and well-being.
• The findings underscore the need to integrate EI development into nursing education and practice within critical care.