Measured Emotional Intelligence in Baccalaureate Nursing Education: A Longitudinal Study

Emotional intelligence (EI) includes the ability to perceive, facilitate, understand, and manage emotions. EI impacts the quality of care nurses provide to patients as members of the health care team. The purpose of this study was to determine if measured EI of nursing students changed during a professional nursing program. A quantitative longitudinal correlational design was used to measure EI scores of nursing students at the beginning and end of a baccalaureate nursing program. Findings include a statistically significant decrease of total EI scores over time, as well as a significant decrease in two of the ability subscales.