Does Emotional Intelligence Affect Residency Selection? Samer Abu-Sultaneh, MD Department of Pediatrics Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Marshall University, Huntington, WV
Background Emotional intelligence (EI) has been used in many fields to predict success. Some studies suggested the relationship between EI and patient satisfaction 1, empathy 2 and communication skills 3. 1.Wagner PJ, Moseley GC, Grant MM, Gore JR, Owens C. Physicians' emotional intelligence and patient satisfaction. Family Medicine 2002 Nov-Dec;34(10): Kliszcz J, Nowicka-Sauer K, Trzeciak B, Nowak P, Sadowska A. Empathy in health care providers--validation study of the Polish version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Adv Med Sci. 2006;51: Stratton TD, Elam CL, Murphy-Spencer AE, Quinlivan SL. Emotional intelligence and clinical skills: preliminary results from a comprehensive clinical performance examination. Acad Med Oct;80(10 Suppl):S34-7.
Objective Evaluate the effect of emotional intelligence of fourth year medical students on residency selection.
Methods Online survey using Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS) was sent to fourth year medical students. Students asked to indicate the age, gender, USMLE 1 score, USMLE 2 CK score and their residency selection.
Methods Cont. Emotional Quotient (EQ) was calculated based on their responses to the 33 questions of SEIS (scores ranges between 33 and 165). EQ was compared between groups using multivariate regression analysis, with p value <0.05 considered as statistically significant.
Results 29 students completed the survey; 62.1% males and 37.9% females.
EQ by Gender
EQ by Age
EQ by USMLE 1 Score
EQ by USMLE 2 CK Score
EQ by Specialty * 1 Anasthesia, 1 Neurosurgery
Conclusion Emotional intelligence is an interesting new concept in medical education. More studies are needed to explore its effect on medical students' specialty selection.