Emotional Intelligence and Patient Interviewing Skills in Dpt Students
Purpose/Hypothesis: Success during a patient interview is often measured via patient feedback. The ability to consider the feelings and needs of a patient lead to improved patient experience during an interview. The purpose of this study was to examine if emotional intelligence in DPT students correlates with patient interview satisfaction.
Number of Subjects: A convenience sample of 28 first year DPT students (52% female) with age range 23 to 33 from Franklin Pierce University (Arizona) participated in the current study.
Materials and Methods: After obtaining informed consent, participants completed the Assessing Emotions tool to assess emotional intelligence. Volunteer patients completed the CARE assessment tool after they were interviewed by DPT students as part of a practical examination. Volunteer patients were interviewed about their musculoskeletal pain. Both tools have demonstrated validity and reliability for these measurements. Results from the EI survey were analyzed for possible relationships between emotional intelligence levels and patient interview scores using a Spearman Correlation test.
Results: Spearman Correlation analysis was conducted with a significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence and patient interview scores (rs = .640, p=.000). Mean emotional intelligence score 138.00, mean patient interview score 3.78.
Conclusions: In the current sample, a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and patient interview scores was found.
Clinical Relevance: Emotional intelligence levels may impact patient interview skills in DPT students. Consideration of factors correlated with emotional intelligence levels may be useful when providing resources to admitted students to facilitate academic success. This warrants further research on whether or not emotional intelligence is a subject that can be taught/learned and potentially incorporated into DPT programs.