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The use of emotional intelligence capabilities in clinical reasoning and decision‐making: A qualitative, exploratory study
Author(s) -
Hutchinson Marie,
Hurley John,
Kozlowski Desirée,
Whitehair Leeann
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.14106
Subject(s) - psychology , qualitative research , thematic analysis , emotional intelligence , sensibility , relevance (law) , coaching , clinical decision making , cognition , exploratory research , applied psychology , medical education , medicine , social psychology , psychotherapist , social science , art , literature , neuroscience , sociology , intensive care medicine , anthropology , political science , law
Aims and objectives To explore clinical nurses’ experiences of using emotional intelligence capabilities during clinical reasoning and decision‐making. Background There has been little research exploring whether, or how, nurses employ emotional intelligence ( EI ) in clinical reasoning and decision‐making. Design Qualitative phase of a larger mixed‐methods study. Methods Semistructured qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of registered nurses ( n = 12) following EI training and coaching. Constructivist thematic analysis was employed to analyse the narrative transcripts. Results Three themes emerged: the sensibility to engage EI capabilities in clinical contexts, motivation to actively engage with emotions in clinical decision‐making and incorporating emotional and technical perspectives in decision‐making. Conclusion Continuing to separate cognition and emotion in research, theorising and scholarship on clinical reasoning is counterproductive. Relevance to clinical practice Understanding more about nurses’ use of EI has the potential to improve the calibre of decisions, and the safety and quality of care delivered.