W3 Analysis of Leadership Traits and Strengths

My Initial Post: Analysis of Leadership Traits and Strengths

Emotional intelligence is important among nurses and unit leaders. Emotional intelligence (EI), also known as emotional quotient (EQ) refers to the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions in oneself and other people (Northouse, 2018). Nurses deal with different people and experience different situations. Effective utilization of emotional intelligence in nursing can help a nurse know how to behave and act when confronted with a troubling situation (Coladonato & Manning, 2017). An example of a nurse leader demonstrating emotional intelligence is a nurse in a surgical unit who reports about a male patient that is rude and constantly questions the nurse's actions. The patient is a male aged 36 years who had undergone spinal surgery after being involved in a car accident that caused herniated discs. The patient is numb from the waist and can barely feel his legs. He questions every action that the nurse takes, and gets angry, and shouts at the nurse. The nurse leader demonstrates emotional intelligence in this case by calming down the patient and make him apologize for his actions.

The nurse leader goes to the patient’s bed and sits next to him and asks him what his concerns are. As usual, the patient bursts into anger, shouting, and complaining about the care he is accorded. The nurse leader reviews the care he has received and continues to listen to him while trying to calm him in a friendly way. After a few minutes, the patient calms down then the nurse leader tells him that she understands how he feels. She assures him that everything that the nurses are doing is based on evidence-based medical procedures. She also tells him that she understands how he is feeling. She does not order him to stop yelling or try to calm him down. She tells him that he should be cooperative because everything she does is beneficial and the approved procedure. The patient starts crying and apologizes for his reactions.

In this example, the nurse leader demonstrated emotional intelligence by perceiving and controlling her emotions, understanding the patient's emotions, and behaving in ways that comfort him. The nurse leader first exercised self-awareness. Self-awareness is one of the core factors that enhance emotional intelligence (Murray, 2017). She understood that she was the leader and had to do the right thing to calm the situation. She was aware that the patient might be annoying, but she understood that he had just developed a severe problem from a car accident. She also regulated her emotions by not getting angry with the patient. The patient was using all sorts of words to reveal his anger; however, the nurse leader maintained her calm. Empathy is the other strategy that the nurse leader used to enhance emotional intelligence (Crowne, Young, Goldman, Patterson, Krouse & Proenca, 2017). Empathy is the ability to understand the emotional makeup of others and relate to their feelings. The nurse leader understood the feelings and emotions of the patient. She understood that the patient was under distress and could not hold or control his feelings. She never got angry even though the patient was potentially annoying. She calmed the patient and informed him that everything the nurses were doing was meant to enhance his well-being. She also involved social skills because she first listened to the patient's concerns and did not engage him in rage. She trying to de-escalate the conflict and used civility in handling the patient. She quickly built a calm relationship with the patient by listening to him. The nurse leader utilized emotional intelligence to calm down the patient and ensure that he was comforted.

References

Coladonato, A. R., & Manning, M. L. (2017). Nurse leader emotional intelligence: How does it affect clinical nurse job satisfaction? Nursing management, 48(9), 26-32.

Crowne, K. A., Young, T. M., Goldman, B., Patterson, B., Krouse, A. M., & Proenca, J. (2017). Leading nurses: Emotional intelligence and leadership development effectiveness. Leadership in Health Services.

Murray, E. (2017). Nursing leadership and management: for patient safety and quality care. FA Davis.

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Sage Publications.