Healthcare professionals to improve interpersonal skills

Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q) has announced that its Institutefor Population Health (IPH) is introducing a new training course –entitled Mastering Emotional Intelligence – as part of its mission toenhance the population’s health and build capacity.The aim is to train healthcare professionals to be emotionally aware andmanage the source of their behaviour, reflect on their social awarenessand learn how to handle the triggers of their emotions for the benefitof clinical care, healthcare outcomes, patient satisfaction and teammorale, WCM-Q has said in a statement.Emotional intelligence (EQ) is made of four core skills: self-awareness,self-management, social awareness and relationship management.EQ is the foundation for a host of critical skills and the strongest predictor of high performance.The one-day workshop will be delivered by Maha Elnashar and HudaAbdelrahim from the Center for Cultural Competence in Healthcare(CCCHC), a unit of the IPH, who are licensed by TalentSmart Inc, one ofthe world’s top providers of EQ training.Elnashar, director of CCCHC, said: “EQ is one of the essential skillsneeded to work with and manage cultural diversity. Differences cantrigger various emotional reactions like anxiety and fear that canextrude annoyance and apprehension; or they can stimulate curiosity andinterest to learn more. “Dealing with this mixture of emotional responses requires emotionalintelligence. The need for well-developed emotional intelligencetraining is particularly strong in Qatar because of the country’s widemix of cultures. WCM-Q is also planning to provide the training inArabic to target all levels of healthcare and educationalprofessionals.”Published research shows that EQ education is needed in the medicalsector as it helps enhance interpersonal and social communication skillsand achieves a range of benefits including increased job satisfaction,improved performance and better patient-doctor relationships.It ensures people are treated equally and receive high-quality care.For example, studies demonstrate that some patients fail to followinstructions if they feel they have not been treated with sufficientrespect, while doctors may misinterpret these emotions and be unaware ofthe patient’s negative feelings towards them.Being emotionally intelligent means that individuals can recognise,understand and manage their feelings in positive ways, allowing them tobetter deal with highly stressful situations, improving theircommunication skills and increasing empathy.Dr Ravinder Mamtani, senior associate dean for population health,capacity building and student affairs, said the course would be anexcellent fit for IPH’s mission, and that improving a person’s emotionalintelligence would allow them to view their feelings critically,objectively and to react positively.He added, “Since emotions influence our behaviour and reactions, theregulation of emotions should be coupled with teaching. EQ is a flexibleset of skills that can be acquired and improved with practice overtime. “This new course will enhance WCM-Q’s commitment to improving healthcareacross Qatar, providing innovative training to healthcareprofessionals, allowing them to obtain new skills and so improving theinpatient and outpatient experience for patients.”