Relationship between social intelligence levels and occupational perceptions of midwifery students

Purpose: This research was conducted as a descriptive study to examine social intelligence levels and occupational perceptions. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with 174 midwifery students who voluntarily accepted to participate in the research between April 15-May 1 2018. The research data were collected from Individual Identification Form, Tromso Social Intelligence Scale and questionnaire forms which contained questions related to job perceptions of the midwives, and their expectations for the future with face-to-face interviews. Results: The average age of the students were 20.99 +/- 2.38 years. In the study, 66.1% of the students reported that they had chosen their own department willingly and 82.2% of them liked it. The average Tromso Social Intelligence Scale score of the students is 71.79 +/- 10,040. The social intelligence levels of the students who were positive to the profession, did not find the assignments fairly, thought they are not informed adequately about the personal rights in the institution, thought the profession contributes to the development of the society and participated in the socio-cultural activities in the professional sense are statistically higher. Conclusion: The social intelligence levels of midwifery students were found high in the study. Additionally, It has been found that social intelligence positively affects students' occupacitional perceptions and future expectations.