Emotional Intelligence, Health, and Performance in Nursing Students: A Systematic Review

Emotional intelligence (EI) enables the regulation of emotions and facilitates interpersonal relationships. This is essential for managing emotionally charged situations and developing skills to provide quality care.

A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA recommendations in Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, and PubMed databases to describe the levels of EI, identify differences according to gender, and determine the relationship of EI with health, academic, and clinical performance in nursing students.

Average levels of EI were found; in five of the studies, the levels were higher among females. An association between high levels of EI and improved academic and clinical performance and health also was found.

Future research on EI education programs for nursing students is essential for the development of skills and abilities that improve well-being, academic performance, and quality of health care. [.