Use of Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Advanced Practice Registered Nursing Competencies.

BACKGROUND

Interpersonal relationships are fundamental to competent delivery of health care. Nursing practice is grounded in interpersonal relationships, making advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) well prepared to ensure the delivery of safe, effective care. Research demonstrates interpersonal dynamics can be enhanced. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions in self and others, and it comprises a key factor in interpersonal relationships.

METHOD

APRN education is grounded in the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses and master's Essentials competencies. This analysis provides a framework to align APRN professional competencies with EI competencies to enhance leadership, communication, and teamwork in health care teams.

RESULTS

By using the matrix of EI and APRN competencies provided, nurse educators may implement learning strategies to improve EI and support APRN competencies.

CONCLUSION

Well-educated and emotionally intelligent APRNs can enhance cooperation in multidisciplinary teams, promote better communication, and demonstrate APRN leadership to improve patient outcomes. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(11):648-654.].