### Applying Emotional Intelligence to Salutogenesis in Collegial Relationships
In the healthcare field, the importance of collegial relationships, emotional intelligence (EI), and their impact on salutogenesis cannot be overstated. Salutogenesis, the process of health creation, thrives in environments where professional interactions are underpinned by shared values, commitments, and goals. This paper delves into the application of EI in fostering salutogenic relationships among healthcare professionals, specifically within nursing, and explores how these interactions contribute to personal and professional well-being. By examining emotional experiences at the bedside, the ability to use emotions to reason, and the impact of emotions on understanding and actions, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of EI in nursing practice.
### Emotional Experiences at the Bedside
**Humanizing Emotions**
At the bedside, certain emotional experiences make healthcare professionals feel more human and deeply alive. Compassion, empathy, and connection with patients are pivotal emotions that reinforce the humanity of nurses. For instance, witnessing a patient’s recovery or being part of a critical moment in their care can evoke profound feelings of fulfillment and purpose. These emotions not only enhance the nurse’s sense of self-worth but also strengthen their commitment to patient care. Studies have shown that compassion satisfaction is directly linked to lower burnout rates and higher job satisfaction among nurses (Hunsaker et al., 2015). The emotional connection forged through genuine patient care acts as a catalyst for personal and professional growth, making nurses feel more alive and engaged in their work.
**Dehumanizing Emotions**
Conversely, certain emotions can diminish a nurse’s sense of humanity. Feelings of frustration, helplessness, and emotional exhaustion often arise in high-stress environments, particularly when dealing with noncompliant patients or witnessing suffering that cannot be alleviated. These emotions can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout, negatively impacting both personal well-being and professional performance. Research indicates that high levels of stress and burnout are prevalent among nurses, leading to reduced empathy and compromised patient care (Hegney et al., 2014). Addressing these emotions is crucial to maintaining a salutogenic work environment.
### The Role of Emotions in Reasoning
**Understanding and Using Emotions**
The ability to use emotions to reason is particularly important in nursing. Emotions provide valuable information about patient needs and the healthcare environment, guiding decision-making processes. For example, feelings of concern for a patient’s deteriorating condition can prompt a nurse to take immediate action, potentially saving the patient’s life. This emotional reasoning is a key component of clinical judgment and critical thinking in nursing practice. Goleman (1995) emphasizes that emotional intelligence enhances problem-solving abilities by allowing individuals to process emotions constructively and use them to inform their decisions.
**Deepening Understanding Through Emotions**
Emotions not only influence reasoning but also deepen understanding. When a nurse feels empathy for a patient, it enhances their ability to understand the patient’s perspective and needs. This deeper understanding can lead to more personalized and effective care. For instance, a nurse who recognizes a patient’s fear of a medical procedure can take steps to alleviate that fear through communication and reassurance, thereby improving the patient’s experience and cooperation. The ability to empathize and understand patients’ emotions is essential for delivering holistic and compassionate care.
**Changing Feelings Through Understanding**
Understanding emotions can also change how nurses feel. By recognizing and processing their own emotions, nurses can manage their reactions and maintain emotional balance. For example, understanding that feelings of frustration stem from systemic issues rather than personal failure can help a nurse remain calm and focused, preventing burnout. Emotional intelligence training has been shown to improve emotional regulation and resilience among healthcare professionals, leading to better coping strategies and reduced stress levels (McQueen, 2004). This self-awareness and regulation are critical for sustaining a positive and effective work environment.
### Conclusion
Emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in fostering salutogenic relationships in nursing practice. By identifying and understanding their own and others’ emotions, nurses can enhance their ability to reason, make informed decisions, and provide compassionate care. Emotional experiences at the bedside, both humanizing and dehumanizing, significantly impact nurses’ well-being and professional performance. Developing EI skills, such as empathy, emotional regulation, and self-awareness, is essential for creating a supportive and effective healthcare environment. Investing in EI training for nurses can lead to improved health outcomes, reduced burnout, and a more resilient healthcare workforce.
### References
– Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Bantam Books.
– Hegney, D. G., Craigie, M., Hemsworth, D., Osseiran-Moisson, R., Aoun, S., Francis, K., & Drury, V. (2014). Compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, anxiety, depression and stress in registered nurses in Australia: Phase 2 results. *Journal of Nursing Management, 22*(4), 506-518.
– Hunsaker, S., Chen, H.-C., Maughan, D., & Heaston, S. (2015). Factors that influence the development of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction in emergency department nurses. *Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 47*(2), 186-194.
– Kotsou, I., Mikolajczak, M., Heeren, A., Grégoire, J., & Leys, C. (2018). Improving emotional intelligence: A systematic review of existing work and future challenges. *Emotion Review, 11*(1), 1-20.
– McQueen, A. C. (2004). Emotional intelligence in nursing work. *Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47*(1), 101-108.
Writing Assignment Content
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Chapter 12 in our book:
APPLYING EI TO SALUTOGENESIS IN COLLEGIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Collegial relationships, based on professional role interaction and shared values, commitment, and hardship can also be salutogenic. Two nurses who don’t “get along” may find common ground (meaning) in shared commitment to solving a particularly difficult patient problem. A doctor and nurse may find new respect and a deeper level of effectiveness when they use their different approaches together to achieve a common goal, deepening their partnership at the same time patient goals are achieved. The effectiveness of excellent mentors, teachers, and supervisors often rest with their ability to form salutogenic relationships that are very different from friendships or other relationships of equal power.
In collegial relationships, EI ability feeds the salutogenic qualities of a relationship. Identifying emotions, especially those related to conflict like competitiveness, jealousy, defensiveness, and resistance leads to an opportunity to move beyond them and set shared meaning as the primary goal. This is illustrated in a relationship between two ICU nurses who openly acknowledged their dislike of each other. Head-to-head over a deep open wound in their patient’s leg, they finally looked at each other and said, “You will never be my friend, but we both want this thing healed.” This identification of emotions, along with the spoken commitment to a common goal, enabled them to set aside the emotions that were keeping them from working well together. They never did become friends, but their professional relationship, built on their mutual respect and professional work together, nourished them both.
EI, SALUTOGENESIS, AND NURSING RESEARCH
Little research examines EI ability as it affects salutogenesis in nurses specifically, but a great deal of evidence supports the relationship between EI and related concepts, physical and emotional health, self-efficacy, and emotional self-care in moral and spiritual distress. Meta-analysis of general population (including samples greater than 19,000), concluded that EI correlated with emotional and physical health (Kotsou et al., 2018; Martins et al., 2010). Development of EI ability has been correlated with health outcomes in nurses, and several studies identified EI as a mediator in nurses’ stress responses and burnout (Afsar et al., 2017; Hurley et al., 2020; Jurado et al., 2019) (see Chapter 15 for research summary). It is particularly interesting that countries as culturally dissimilar as the United States, Pakistan, Greece, Spain, and China report similar findings.
DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CULTIVATING SALUTOGENESIS
THE PRACTICE OF REFLECTION AND USING THE RELAXATION RESPONSE
As the stories in this chapter suggest, identifying emotions in professional practice—and ways of understanding them, that have particularly rich meaning—is a great way to begin.
Let us consider the following questions for our writing assignment this week that can start us off on this practice.
1-When you are at the bedside, what emotional experiences make you feel more human, more deeply alive?
2-What emotions have the opposite effect, diminishing your humanity?
3-The ability to use emotions to reason is particularly important in this work.
4-How does what I feel deepen my understanding of this emotion?
5-How does my understanding of this emotion change how I feel?
Please write a scholarly paper answering these questions- validated by your research findings. The paper should be 4 to 5 pages in length. Please adhere to APA format.
Excellent
5 current sources are used and are peer-review journal articles or scholarly books. Sources include both general background sources and specialized sources. Special-interest sources and popular literature and acknowledged as such if they are cited. All websites utilized are authoritative.
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