🧠 Journal Summary: How do emotional intelligence and professional identity affect humanistic care ability?

🧠 Journal Summary: How do emotional intelligence and professional identity affect humanistic care ability? A cross-sectional study among standardised training nurses in China

Authors: Hao Yang, Xihong Wang, Ting Bai, Jincheng Zhang, Hong Zhang, Wentao Peng, Hongqian Liu

Published In: BMJ Open

🔍 Study Summary

This study investigated the current levels of emotional intelligence, professional identity, and humanistic care ability among standardized training nurses (STNs) in China. Its main goals were to understand the relationships between these variables, specifically exploring whether professional identity acts as a mediating factor in the relationship between emotional intelligence and humanistic care ability. The research aimed to uncover potential mechanisms connecting these crucial aspects of nursing practice.

💡 Key Concepts

• Emotional Intelligence (EI): The capacity of an individual to perceive, understand, regulate, and utilize emotions to enhance thought and interpersonal functioning. It includes self-emotional appraisal, others’ emotional appraisal, regulation of emotion, and using emotion to improve performance.
• Professional Identity: An individual’s self-concept and the internalization of professional values, roles, and responsibilities within their chosen profession. In nursing, this involves adhering to ethical standards, values, and practices to provide high-quality patient care.
• Humanistic Care Ability: A core component of nursing that focuses on the holistic treatment of patients, encompassing their physical, emotional, psychological, and social well-being through values like empathy, respect, and dignity. It is measured by understanding, courage, and patience.

📊 Key Insights

• Standardized training nurses (STNs) exhibited low levels of humanistic care ability, particularly in the dimension of “courage,” and low levels in assessing others’ emotions, although they showed moderate levels of professional identity.
• There was a statistically significant positive correlation between humanistic care ability, professional identity, and emotional intelligence among STNs.
• Emotional intelligence had a significant positive direct effect on humanistic care ability (β=0.798, p<0.001).
• Professional identity partially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and humanistic care ability (β=0.109, p<0.05), indicating that emotional intelligence not only directly boosts humanistic care but also does so indirectly by strengthening professional identity.
• Emotional intelligence positively predicted professional identity (β=0.442, p<0.001).
• Professional identity positively predicted humanistic care ability (β=0.247, p<0.05).

📘 Example Application

In a nursing education program, incorporating targeted emotional intelligence training could significantly enhance newly graduated nurses’ empathy and their sense of professional identity.

For instance, workshops focusing on recognizing and managing emotions in clinical settings, role-playing challenging patient interactions, and encouraging reflective journaling could directly improve their humanistic care abilities and indirectly strengthen their commitment to the nursing profession, leading to better patient outcomes.

💬 Comment from Dr. Dwi Suryanto

These findings are crucial because they highlight the interconnectedness of emotional intelligence, professional identity, and humanistic care in nursing. Recognizing professional identity as a mediator emphasizes that fostering a strong sense of professional self can amplify the positive effects of emotional intelligence on patient care.

This provides a clear direction for educational interventions to cultivate more empathetic and effective healthcare professionals.

📌 Takeaway

Emotional intelligence is vital for nurses’ ability to provide humanistic care, with professional identity playing a key role in strengthening this connection; therefore, integrating emotional intelligence and professional identity training into nursing education is essential for developing highly competent and compassionate nurses.