Introduction:
Intelligence has always been a puzzling word and, as a distinct feature of humans, the highest creatures, an extensive range of studies has tried to solve this cipher. Gardner, in his theory of multiple intelligences, highlights taking a broad perspective of intelligence. Emphasizing that traditional definitions of intelligence, such as IQ, are far too limited, he describes eight types of intelligence. (1) One of these types is the emotional, which struggles against the intellectual. This definition captures the conflict between the mind’s thoughts and the heart’s emotions. Who is better? Who is more important? When should we use each, or both?
Undoubtedly, we all need both emotions and mind to succeed. One of them cannot substitute for the other; we need to reach a state of balance between both. Similarly, it is best to ensure that those having book smarts (i.e. people with higher cognitive abilities-intellectual intelligence) are not more successful than those with street smarts (i.e. people with higher non-cognitive abilities-emotional intelligence) and vice versa, as each completes the other. As David Caruso said, “It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head—it is the unique intersection of both.” (2)
This struggle is also prominent in the medical field. Health care professionals, especially doctors, are always caught in the middle of this conflict between humanity and objectivity. Most medical curricula emphasize the importance of intellectual abilities (knowledge and skills), while very scant attention is given to the improvement of doctors’ EI. This imbalance could lead to increases in malpractice claims against doctors (3) (4), high levels of burnout and depression (5) (3) (6), and deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship. (5) (7) (4) As Goleman has pointed out, at times of heightened competition for patient loyalty, those physicians who are more aware of their patients’ emotions are more successful in treating patients than their less-perceptive colleagues. (8) (9) The improved doctor-patient relationship leads to patient satisfaction, and thereby helps increase diagnosis accuracy and patient compliance, making them more adherent to treatment protocols. (9) (7) Furthermore, emotional intelligence is supposed to improve physical and psychological health, lead to better stress coping, and promote effective teamwork and enhanced leadership among medical staff.
Due to increasing awareness of the importance of EI, emotional intelligence has become a concept of great interest in the field of medical education. It was introduced by Salovey and Mayer as a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor the feelings and emotions of oneself and others, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions. (10) As defined by Goleman, EI has five components: knowing one’s emotions (self-awareness), managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others (empathy), and handling relationships. (11)
There is scant knowledge, organized data, and statistics about the EI of medical students in Palestine, its relationship with medical aspects, and its effect on medical students at Al-Quds and Al-Najah Universities. Such information is needed in order to improve students’ achievements, quality of life, and professional success. Therefore, our study examined the emotional intelligence scores of Al-Quds and Al-Najah University medical students according to their stage of study (basic vs. clinical) and in the context of potential contributing factors.