Emotional competence: A core competence in gerontological nursing in Iran

Abstract

Aim and objectives Defining the components of emotional competence in caring for older people in Iranian hospitals. Background People of older age are the largest recipients of healthcare services in hospitals. Thus, it is essential to establish what characteristics of emotional competence are required for nursing older people. Design This qualitative descriptive‐exploratory study was conducted in Iran from September 2015 to April 2016. Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants (nine nurses, 12 nurse managers, four clinical instructors), chosen by purposive and snowball sampling based on saturation. Data were analysed by content analysis method. Results Qualitative content analysis identified two core categories and seven subcategories from the data: (a) Individual emotional competence with five subcategories of positive attitude, spiritual maturity, emotional self‐control, adherence to professional ethics and creativity and innovation, and (b) social emotional competence with two subcategories of relationship management and compassionate care. Conclusion Emotional competence was identified as one of the main components of nursing skills when caring for older people. Gerontological nurses should demonstrate emotional competence in caring for older people and include a positive attitude, spiritual maturity, emotional self‐control, adherence to professional ethics, creativity in care, successful relationship management and compassionate care in their practice. Implications for practice These findings can be used to guide development of emotional competencies for nursing older people.

Nurses' perceptions of emotional intelligence in the clinical setting: A qualitative systematic review

“…Nurses' differing beliefs led to further diversity in their perceptions of proficient exemplification of emotional intelligence. While some associated the skilful display of emotional intelligence with respected leaders and role models (Astralaga, 2018; Davies et al, 2010; Jessen, 2017; Udod et al, 2020), others saw emotional intelligence as being closely associated to attitude, professionalism, performance at work and, hence, could be used to determine career progression (Bahrami et al, 2018; Udod et al, 2020).…”

“…Emotionally intelligent nurses were also more knowledgeable about the concept of synchronicity of emotions (Bahrami et al, 2018; Davies et al, 2010; Molter, 2001). They showed more sensitivity to verbal and non‐verbal cues and used them to identify the emotions of themselves and others (Jessen, 2017; Laser, 2016; Molter, 2001).…”

Different Dimensions of Iranian Nurses’ Competency: A Scoping Review

“…The emotional and motivational dimension that is called emotional competency includes personal emotional competency (positive attitude, spiritual maturity, emotional self-control, adherence to professional ethics, creativity, and innovation) and social-emotional competency (communication management and compassionate care) (Gholampour et al, 2018;Nehrir et al, 2016;Bahrami et al, 2018;Zafarnia et al, 2017;Jouzi, Vanaki & Mohammadi 2015;Haghigh et al, 2017).…”

Development and psychometric testing of the Gerontological Nursing Competence (GeroNursingCom) instrument

“…It is quite worrying that the latest European Gerontological curriculum is from the year 2003 (WHO, 2003) while the growing older population is forcing health care to become more inclusive of older patients (WHO, 2015), i.e., nurses are expected to improve – or at least maintain – the functioning and well‐being of older patients. As many of the ailments troubling geriatric patients cannot be cured, nurses in this field should be competent at maximizing health outcomes, promoting mental health and providing evidence‐based dementia care, emotional support, as well as optimal pain management and palliative care (Bahrami et al., 2018; Britten et al., 2018). The caring encounter is a foundation for nurses' work; as such, nurses must be open, communicative, sensitive, and empathetic when interacting with patients (Holopainen et al., 2019).…”