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.