Emotional intelligence competencies in the undergraduate nursing curriculum: A descriptive qualitative study

Background: The evidence suggests that emotional intelligence is an essential interpersonal skill for the nursing profession, but there is a paucity in the literature about how these competencies are integrated into the undergraduate curriculum. Objectives: To explore how undergraduate nursing faculty incorporated emotional intelligence competencies in baccalaureate nursing education. Design and settings: The design for this study was a qualitative descriptive design. Participants were recruited from eight public universities with pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing programs across the United States. Participants: A purposive and network sample of full-time, didactic nursing faculty members (n = 8) from pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing programs throughout the United States. Methods: A total of eight semi-structured interviews were conducted via Skype or Zoom between June and October 2020, with a mean duration of 58 min. All were transcribed verbatim. Data analysis continued through thematic analysis and constant comparison. The study is reported in accordance with COREQ guidelines and received IRB approval. Results: Three themes and eight sub-themes were found within the data: (a) formal strategies (communication, professional formation, empathy/caring), (b) informal strategies (interpersonal development, practice what you preach, teaching strategies), and (c) need for a systems approach (organizational framework, organizational breakdown). Conclusions: The results suggested that participants used a combination of formal and informal strategies to cultivate emotional intelligence competence in their students and that a systems approach may be the best strategy to support curricular consistency throughout the program of study. Faculty participants unanimously agreed that emotional intelligence skills were essential components of the undergraduate nursing curriculum and were crucial to cultivating a healthy academic environment.