A longitudinal study of emotional intelligence in graduate nurse anesthesia students

OBJECTIVE: Emotional intelligence (EI) is an important component not only for success in the nurse anesthesia (NA) profession, but as a NA student as well. Using the ability-based EI model, the purpose of this was to examine the difference in EI between the first semester and last semester of NA training programs. METHODS: First semester NA students completed the online Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test V2.0 EI instrument, and then the same students repeated the instrument in their last (7(th)) semester. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant correlation between overall EI and long-term overall EI (P = 0.000), reasoning area and long-term reasoning area (P = 0.035), experiencing area (P = 0.000) and long-term experiencing area, perceiving branch and long-term perceiving branch (P = 0.000), using and long-term using branch (P = 0.000), and the managing branch and long-term managing branch (P = 0.026). The correlation between the understanding branch and the long-term understanding branch was not statistically significant (P < 0.157). The paired sample t-test demonstrated no statistically significant change (n = 34) in overall EI, the two areas scores, or the four-branch scores between the first semester and the last semester of a NA training program. CONCLUSIONS: This longitudinal study shows the lack of EI change in NA students over time. Thus, no change in EI occurs as a result of transitioning through a NA program based on the accrediting body's standardized curriculum, but the results helped the researcher provide useful data to inform future research on the use of EI measures as predictors of NA program success.