Over the past few years, there has been an increasing focus within the nursing profession on what makes someone professional. More and more organizations are asking how well they should be performing their jobs, and whether or not their superiors feel that they are doing so professionally.

The term "professional" is difficult to define, but we can agree that it goes beyond just having a job. It is also about possessing certain qualities such as empathy, responsibility, integrity, respect for others, teamwork, etc.

Emotional intelligence (EI) was first coined back in 1989 by Daniel Goleman. He described it as the ability to manage your emotions and relate to people emotionally.

Since then, emotional intelligence has become one of the most popular leadership theories. People who have high levels of EI are said to be less likely to suffer from stress-related illnesses like anxiety and depression. They are also reported to perform better at work and develop relationships more effectively.

Many believe that nurses with higher levels of EQ are more compassionate towards patients, which helps them heal mentally and physically. These professionals also seem to enjoy their workplace more since they are able to connect with other individuals around them.

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This article will talk you through some ways that show that nurses have high levels of emotional intelligence.

It shows resilience

A recent study conducted by Elliot Kaufman, an assistant professor of nursing at University College London, examined whether there is a link between emotional intelligence (EI) and professional resilience among nurses.

Resilience can be described as the ability to overcome or recover from experiences that are outside our control. It is important to note that being resilient doesn’t mean avoiding challenges, it means developing strategies to manage stress and avoid situations that may pose threats to you.

Professor Kaufman found that higher levels of EI were linked with greater professional resilience. This makes sense because professionals who have high levels of empathy and self-awareness tend to be more aware of their own emotions and how these affect others.

They also use these feelings to motivate themselves and help regulate their moods.

It shows self-awareness

A person with high emotional intelligence is aware of their emotions. They are able to recognize them, describe them, and identify what causes them.

This makes it easy to control your own emotions and understand why other people may be feeling a certain way. This also means you are likely to notice when someone else is not themselves and can explain this sometimes for very slight reasons.

It helps you relate to others which is important in nursing. If you work in health care, you will have to deal with patients all day, every day!

Your colleagues and patients will put up walls that they stick to, but if you try hard to get through these barriers, you will find that there is something valuable you learn about them.

You will discover how they feel deep down and whether they seem like they are hiding something or not. All of this takes empathy.

Emotional intelligence is a skill that everyone should possess to succeed in life. But in healthcare, it is even more important to have it as a nurse.

Nurses spend a lot of time interacting with sick individuals and those who are well after being hospitalized.

Their stories affect each other so having a strong sense of empathy is crucial to success.

It shows self-control

In addition to helping you manage your own emotions, EI can help you regulate those of others. This is called social emotional learning or SEl.

Nurses are professionals who work with a wide range of people from different cultural backgrounds and with varying levels of health. When nurses show their lack of social control, it could have disastrous effects on patients’ care.

For example, if a nurse gets angry about something that doesn't seem to be going his/her way, he/she might forget how to communicate, seek professional counseling for personal issues, or even quit working. All of these things affect someone else's chance of receiving quality healthcare.

SEl helps ensure that individuals' needs are being met by giving them knowledge and strategies they can use to handle stressful situations, as well as learn better interpersonal skills.

It shows motivation

A person with high emotional intelligence is not necessarily someone who experiences many highs, but they are aware of their emotions and why people around them have those emotions. They recognize what emotions other people may be feeling and how to use that information to motivate them or influence them.

This goes beyond just telling someone “you should feel happy for such-and-such” because they gave you some good news, by saying so can make them feel better about themselves.

Emotional intelligence also helps us understand the reasons why others behave as they do and sometimes this means being able to identify a situation and/or individual and determining if there is something underlying causing their current behavior.

It shows professionalism

Just like social skills, emotional literacy is an undervalued skill in our society. We spend lots of time and money on education, training, and career development, but we forget about our empathy.

However, nurses must exhibit empathy on a constant basis — towards patients, family members of patients, colleagues, and superiors.

Without it, then nursing would not be considered a profession that cares for and puts the health and well-being of others first.

It shows how to connect with others

A few years ago, there was an uproar about whether or not nurses should be allowed to work while wearing scrubs. Some argued that it showed a lack of professionalism and displayed something less than professional attire. Others disagreed, saying that it did not matter what people wore as long as they cared for patients professionally.

It seems that most nursing professionals agree with the second side of this argument. While it is important to look nice when you go out socially, being able to relate to other individuals and showing compassion for them is way more significant. Being able to identify emotions in others and use appropriate strategies to help them process those feelings is just as important.

This is one of the main components of emotional intelligence.

It shows how to adapt to situations

In fact, some experts describe emotional intelligence as being able to identify your emotions and learn how to control them. This is different from knowing what your own feelings are like, which is called self-awareness, but not knowing why you feel that way about something or someone.

Professional nurses must be aware of their emotions so they do not overreact to certain things. They have to keep their composure when working with patients or members of the health care team who may be upset due to illness of patient or poor teamwork.

As you can see, having high levels of emotional intelligence comes down to one thing: understanding other people.

It shows how to manage your stress

A few examples of emotional intelligence as it relates to nursing are understanding what makes you feel stressed out or nervous, and instead of adding more energy to that situation by getting angry, trying to ignore or put those feelings into another context.

Instead, think about what is causing this feeling and try to figure out why it’s happening. Is it because of something you said or did to someone? Did you get enough sleep last night? What happened earlier today that made you feel anxious?

By thinking about what caused these symptoms before, you can begin to see patterns and determine whether there’s a way to reduce them or avoid they reoccur. In fact, some experts believe that developing emotional intelligence could be a way to prevent nurses from experiencing job loss due to burn-out.

It shows how to be a more effective leader

As mentioned earlier, nursing is an important profession that impacts others’ lives. Nurses are professionals who work with diverse groups of people every day, making it their job to influence them and put them at ease.

Nurses must show professionalism at all times, even when things get a little crazy or emotional. When this happens, your ability to manage your emotions and use empathy to relate to other people can make a big difference.

Effective leadership is about being able to motivate and inspire those around you to keep moving forward towards a common goal. In addition to helping others feel good, professional nurses also need to feel well-equipped to do their jobs.

They must have adequate supplies and resources to care for patients, as well as knowledge and skills to do so properly. The same goes for staying organized and productive during shifts, which can sometimes be difficult due to time constraints.

All of these qualities demonstrate that nurses have a solid understanding of the field they help lead, and know what tools they needs to perform his/her duties to the best of their abilities.