Emotional intelligence (EI) is essential for providing quality and competent care in the nursing profession. Because nurses need to be competent in EI, it is important to determine if inherent factors and academic performance contribute to the development of EI. The purpose of this study, guided by the 4-branch ability model of EI by Mayer and Salovey, was to examine the relationship of EI levels and academic performance, gender, and ethnic background in associate degree nursing (ADN) students who attended a community college. Using convenience sampling, 110 ADN students completed the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test and sociodemographic data. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test, and analysis of variances which indicated no statistical significance between EI levels and academic performance, gender, and ethnic background. Although the findings did not show statistical significance, drawing attention to EI among nursing students and nurse educators may increase nurse educators' awareness of the importance of cultivating EI in nurses and the need to incorporate concepts of EI into the nursing curricula. Doing so can effect positive social change because nurses with higher EI may be better able to understand and manage the emotions of others and themselves in stressful situations. The concept of EI is important to incorporate into nursing curricula to provide the nursing student opportunities to practice and apply the concepts learned in an educational setting. Doing so may improve students' preparation to use EI in their nursing careers. Future research could be done to determine if EI levels change throughout a nursing program and to determine if EI skills are taught in nursing programs.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / For nursing students to be successful in current and future practice they must be proficient critical thinkers and be able to use reflective judgment skills to manage the daily dilemmas of healthcare practice. Critical thinking and reflective judgment are not elements of nursing curricula unless faculty explicitly design learning activities to develop these skills. This study examined the relationship between reflective judgment and critical thinking by comparing a measure of reflective judgment, the Reasoning about Current Issues (RCI) test, with a measure of critical thinking in nursing (the HESI Exit Exam) in a sample population of senior associate degree nursing (ADN) students (N = 108). The descriptive variables of individual ADN student’s age, grade point average (GPA) in nursing courses and the number of completed college/university credit hours were also examined. A modest correlation (r = .370, p < .01) was found between critical thinking and reflective judgment indicating a positive relationship between these two variables. However, the results supported the hypothesis that these are separate concepts; while the students achieved an acceptable level on the measure of critical thinking, they did not exhibit the skill level of an effective reflective thinker. Positive correlations were found between reflective judgment and individual student age and nursing program GPA (p < .01). Critical thinking was also positively correlated with age (r = .351) and GPA (r = .426). There were no statistically significant correlations noted between the number of credits or previously earned baccalaureate degrees with either reflective judgment or critical thinking. An appreciation of the unique commonalities and differences between reflective judgment and critical thinking is essential for the development of innovative strategies and pedagogies meant to advance teaching/learning within schools of nursing with an explicit focus on both concepts and an ultimate goal of improving competence in newly graduated nurses. The implication for nurse educators is in changes and innovations that can lead to more effective thinkers. Careful pedagogical planning and a mindful inclusion of learning activities to develop both reflective judgment and critical thinking skills may lead to increased competence as nursing students and as new graduate nurses.

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