Exploring the variation of emotional intelligence in health sciences students: A mixed method study across pre-clinical and clinical years.

Objective: To assess the variation in levels of emotional intelligence of students in pre-clinical and clinical years of health sciences and to explore what factors were associated with differing levels of EI. Methodology: This mixed-method study was done at the University of Lahore from March to August 2023. Quantitative data was collected using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF) from 248 students, 62 participants were recruited from each discipline of health sciences students. Three focus group discussions and four one-on-one interviews were performed. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data was done based on Daniel's Goleman model of EI's theoretical framework. Results: One-third (32.30%) of health sciences students had low EI levels. Physiotherapy clinical years had a higher mean EI score (141.13 ± 13.42 SD). In MBBS clinical years, EI decreased (p> 0.02), while for BDS, physiotherapy, and optometry, it remained non-significant (p> 0.05). However, proportion of students with moderate EI declined in MBBS (from 67.7% to 41.9%) and optometry (from 83.9% to 67.7%) but increased in physiotherapy (from 64.5% to 77.4%) and BDS (from 58.1% to 61.3%). Five key factors were identified influencing EI levels: self-awareness, social awareness, teacher role modelling, self-management, and communication skills. Conclusion: Students' EI varied across and within disciplines, depending on self-awareness, the working environment, and the responses of their teachers and patients. Soft skills should be explicitly incorporated into the curriculum and reinforced through positive role modelling by teachers.