The Level of Emotional Intelligence in Medical Imaging Students

Abstract

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) is a crucial skill that aids students on how to cope with challenging nature of the academic. Emotionally intelligent persons are emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and physically balanced. This study is aimed to evaluate the average level of EI in medical imaging students whether it is significantly different from the EI value set at 2.5 (high level of emotional intelligence). Methods: This cross-sectional study used the adopted Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) questionnaire. Purposive sampling method was conducted on 89 medical imaging students. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. One sample T-test and Pearson correlation test were conducted with the significant p-values were set at <0.05. Results: : The results showed that the medical imaging students’ EI overall mean score was 3.84 (SD:0.38) with p-value of <0.001. There were also significant p-values of <0.001 for all 10 sub-dimensions of EIS. However, there is no significant correlation was found between level of emotional intelligence and year of study of the respondents 0.69 (r-value:-0.043). Significant high level of EI in medical imaging students could plausibly cause the students to have the ability to perceive themselves as efficient, enthusiastic, cheerful, satisfied, and always tend to stay optimistic in life, have greater self-control, able to endure pressure and manage tension, and are conscientious. Conclusion: High emotional intelligence students were predicted to be more poised for success in the future healthcare professions and industries.