Unveiling Emotional Intelligence: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study among First-Year BSc. Nursing Students

Background: Emotions play an important role in nursing profession and managing emotions requires not only cognitive and technical expertise but also emotional competencies. Nursing students have to adapt to different teaching strategies and new clinical situations. They have to manage conflicts, work in teams and have to undergo stressful situations during exams and in different clinical assignments. Emotional intelligence is an important attribute that helps nursing students to cope with these situations. Aims: This study was aimed to assess the level of emotional intelligence and its association with selected socio-personal variables among first year BSc nursing students from selected Government Nursing Colleges of Kerala. Methods: The study was conducted among 161 first year BSc Nursing students selected through simple random sampling during the period 2022-2023. The tools used were socio-personal data sheet and the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT). The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: the results of the study revealed that majority (87.58%) of nursing students had average level of emotional intelligence. The mean value of emotional intelligence score was 122.46±8.88. The chi-square test revealed that there was no significant association between emotional intelligence and selected socio-personal variables of nursing students. Conclusion: The finding of the study concluded that majority of the nursing students were having average emotional intelligence. The results of the study indicated the need for training on emotional intelligence skills among the nursing students. Key words: Emotional Intelligence (EI), Nursing students, socio-personal variables