Emotional intelligence in medical students at the University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Emotional Intelligence is a form of interpersonal intelligence. There’s evidence that high emotional intelligence (EQ) of a medical student is associated with better coping with the tedious medical training. We evaluated EQ in medical students in their clinical years. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Accra. In all, 111 students completed the questionnaires. Their average age was 24±1.5 years with marginal male preponderance. There were 37, 31 and 43 students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd clinical years respectively. For global scores, 16 (14.1%) had good EQ (>120) with a mean total score of 105.49. The mean EQ for males was 104.2±17 an 106.2±12 for females, however this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.319). Mean EQ for 1st, 2nd and 3rd clinical years were 104.4±13, 104.4±20, and 107.1±12. This rise with increasing years was however not significant (p=0.659). EQ showed a weak positive correlation with age (r=0.1) but this was not significant (p=0.29). We report low EQ among students of the UGMS with no significant difference between gender, age and clinical year. EQ should be actively taught as part of the curriculum in UGMS. A larger study involving other medical schools in Ghana is
recommended.