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Emotional Intelligence And The Nurse Essay

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Nurses are said to do the unthinkable and touch the untouchable (Canfield, Hansen, Mitchell-Autio, & Thieman, 2001). Why nurses can seem to do this remains a mystery yet investigated in peer reviewed literature. Professional nurses hold values to a high standard while performing their tasks. This is done by individuals who are astute in the language that may not always be expressed with words, the language of emotion. It is the nurse holding the hand of the troubled and simply listening to their need that places them in field that is spiritually unique (O 'Brien, 2014). The nurse offers the capacity to identify another’s emotions and encouraging the person, all the while continuing to manage the feeling and interactions with another (Beauvais, 2012). This ability is known as emotional intelligence and offers the nurse a capacity to assume successful leadership positions. Emotionally intelligent skill building for leadership is now a required competency and encompasses spiritually rich aspects of both nursing and leadership. This paper will discuss useful aspects of emotional intelligence in spiritually rich nursing leadership.
Emotional Intelligence There are many definitions of emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman discussed this theory in his 1995 book titled, Emotional Intelligence. From the ideas of Mr. Goleman, nurses may find a more useful definition for this profession than from the previous notions of Salovey & Mayer (1990) who simplified emotional

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