MDNews - Long Island

The Softer Side of Practicing Medicine BY JONELLE TODD EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI) is the abi lit y to recog nize a nd empat hize w it h t he emotions of ot hers, a nd to use t hat awa reness to com municate, resolve conf licts a nd ma na ge relationsh ips ef fectively. In genera l, people w it h h ig h EI h ave a t endenc y t o be more resi l ient , a re bet t er a ble t o cope w it h s t ress a nd m a na ge relat ion sh ips w it h ot hers more ef fectively. A compi lation of ev idence sug gests t hat EI sk i l ls have a direct impact on patient outcomes. These sk i l ls a lso help increa se physicia n wel l-being a nd protect a ga inst burnout. Most prom ising, EI sk i l ls ca n be lea r ned. TEACHING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE A study by Loyola University Medica l Center researchers Ramzan Shahid, MD, Jerold Stirling, MD, and William Adams, MA, published in Advances in Medical Education and Practice, examined the effects of EI training when integrated into the educational curriculum for resident physicians. The residents participating in the Loyola study completed the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 survey, a 133- item EI assessment, before and after receiving EI training. Educational interventions included classroom instruction, videos and workshops focused on self-awareness of emotions, the ability to manage emotional reactions, ability to pick up on the emotions of others and social skills. After completing the training, student scores for overall EI and stress management skills increased significantly. BUFFERING AGAINST BURNOUT The Loyola study a lso a imed to determine whether educationa l intervention would increase the overall EI levels — specifically, stress management and wellness scores — among residents. The researchers concluded that as a group, the residents experienced a significant increase in total EI scores, leading them to theorize that teaching EI skills may improve stress management skills, promote wellness and prevent burnout. The value of EI education in preventing burnout extends to healthcare organization leaders. In an article in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes, researchers reported that leadership training in EI and self-care can help combat professional burnout on institutional and individual levels. The qualitative research study evaluated the sustainable effects of a coaching workshop for healthcare program directors that focused on an awareness, acknowledgment and action approach. During the workshop, participants learned coaching techniques focused on improving self-awareness, self-care, self-compassion and boundary-setting. Introducing workshop participants to EI concepts and how the skills can be used to enhance EI and wellness in others led to changes in attitudes and behaviors among the directors regarding a perceived ability to guide, train and lead others. The researchers found that increasing leadership awareness of burnout factors and introducing leaders to practical applications to address burnout helped participants experience subjectively effective and sustainable improvements in physician EI and wellness over the nine-month follow-up period. SOOTHING PATIENT SUFFERING In an essay published in the JAMA, University of Rochester professor Ronald M. Epstein, MD, and University of Washington oncologist Anthony L. Back, MD, commented on their findings following a review of literature on how physicians address patient suffering. Though suffering is pervasive in the medical profession, the authors found few articles on the subject in medical literature, and almost none directed at practicing clinicians. The authors asserted that physicians could have a pivotal role in alleviating suffering if they change how they respond to patients, yet professional training in this area is sorely lacking. Drs. Epstein and Back suggest that physicians can better address patient suffering by adopting two clinical approaches known as "turning toward" and "refocusing and reclaiming." + Turning toward involves directly asking patients to describe their experience and then attentively listening to and closely observing the patients' responses. By recognizing that diag- nosis and treatment can address only a portion of human suffering, physicians can become more emotionally engaged. + Refocusing and reclaiming involves helping patients come to terms with illness and reconnecting with what is meaningful in their lives. By helping patients deal with the pain, difficult choices and uncertainty often inherent in illness and treatment, clinicians can guide patients toward greater equanimity. And by confronting their own discomfort with suffering, the authors assert, physicians can achieve a deeper sense of purpose. n A GROWING BODY OF RESE ARCH SHOWS CLINICIANS WITH A HIGH LE VEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE NOT ONLY PROVIDE A BENEFIT TO THEIR PATIENTS, THE Y ALSO HELP PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE STRESSES OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. 1 2

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