Developing Capabilities From the Scope of Emotional Intelligence as Part of the Soft Skills Needed in the Long-Term Care Sector: Presentation of Pilot Study and Training Methodology

The article presents the results of the preliminary survey and pilot application of the methodological toolkit for the improvement of certain competencies, which are part of the soft skills of professionals in the long-term care sector in Bulgaria. Based on the survey the authors define 2 target competencies, namely conflict management and empathic interaction. These skills are considered a part of the scope of emotional intelligence and its constituent dimensions and authors use Daniel Goleman’s ability-based model as a base for their conceptual frame and theoretical explanations. In order to present their thesis, the authors perform a soft skill analysis of the long-term care sector; define the construct emotional intelligence and justify their choice of a theoretical model for the subsequent survey. On this basis, they develop a training design for the development of these skills and present the results achieved through its pilot application. The study includes 62 participants randomly divided into a test and control groups. The level of targeted skills is measured (before and after) and the authors report a significant increase in those skills (empathic interaction, net effect 1.87; conflict management, net effect 1.75). In conclusion, the authors open a discussion on the importance of emotional management as an essential part of any profession related to health care and underline its importance for the quality of caregiving services.