Relationship between Nurse’s Emotional Intelligence and Clinical Competency

Introduction: Nowadays, various reasons such as providing desirable services to patients and increasing their expectations have made nurses' clinical competence more attention. Since emotion control can be effective in achieving clinical competency, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical competency of nurses. Methods: This is a descriptive correlational study. Data were collected from 120 nurses working in clinical wards of Arak teaching hospital (Valiasr, Amir Kabir, Amir al-Momin, and Ayatollah Khansari) using Nursing Clinical Competency Assessment Questionnaire and Bradbury Graves Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficient, Chi-square, and SPSS 16 were used for data analysis. Results: The results showed that there is a significant and direct relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical competency of nurses. Conclusion: Considering the relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical competency, nursing managers must consider emotional intelligence promotion in nursing planning.