Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) includes two major skills: managing oneself and successful cooperation with others. Healthcare workers are exposed to numerous work stressors, such as limited resources, organizational challenges, complex diseases, etc. EI can help healthcare workers to better cope with the demands of their work. This study aimed to analyze whether there is an association between emotional intelligence and the degree of education of healthcare professionals working in emergency medicine.
Subjects and methods: The study was conducted among healthcare personnel employed in in-hospital and out-of-hospital emergency departments in Croatia. EI was measured using the Emotional Skills & Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ-45).
Results: Of the 137 eligible participants, 97 (71%) accepted to participate. Emotional intelligence was not significantly associated with the respondents' education. Healthcare personnel employed in the in-hospital emergency department and women had higher emotional competence than workers from out-of-hospital emergency departments and men. There was no significant association between EI and the age of respondents.
Conclusion: EI of employed adults is an individual characteristic that does not depend on the educational level or degree. It would be worthwhile to explore further whether there are significant differences between the EI of healthcare workers in various settings within the health system and invest resources in increasing EI in settings with a lower EI.