Quality of care for dying patients.

Abstract

Madam, As authors of ‘Emotional intelligence and the occupational therapist’, published in the September issue of the journal (McKenna and Mellson 2013), we write in response to the subsequent letters (Chaffey 2013, Healey 2013). We thank the authors for their interest in this article and their acknowledgement of the importance of discussion around the emotional aspects of our practice. Whilst we accept that cultural literacy is essential for our holistic practice and that overreliance on assumptive conceptual tenets is undesirable, it is important to acknowledge that emotional intelligence (EI) draws on evidence from established psycholological theory. This theory describes emotion by linking thinking, emotion, and behaviour from an individual perspective, thus taking account of contextual and cultural influences. The ability to identify, express, and discriminate feelings, and then use them to prioritize, understand multiple viewpoints, problem solve, reflect, and monitor emotional demand and function must include individual context and experiences in order to be effective (Goleman 2004, Mayer and Salovey 1997). Evidence exists to suggest that abilities are malleable, and that lifelong learning is both possible and desirable. The evidence base for EI within the disciplines of psychology, medicine, nursing, and social work is well developed, and supports application of this concept in the facilitation of emotional competence for a range of individuals (Por et al 2011, Smith 2005, Weng et al 2011). This support for the potential of an EI score as an indicator of personal and professional success is growing and in simple terms we cannot ignore it. In line with the National Health Service [NHS] Constitution (Department of Health 2012), our professional education programmes are required to produce practitioners who are fit for practice with compassion; we must be able to satisfy all stakeholders that we can evidence our ability to do this. Many stakeholders, including the potential employers of our students, are advocating values-based recruitment and the utilization of EI measures and training as a tool for selection of staff and for senior staff /leadership development. This supports the need to recognize the emotional demands of our profession and to measure and develop the ability to utilize emotion with intelligence with service users, carers, colleagues, and students, ensuring their success in the workplace and to support competence in profession. We acknowledge the work of Chaffey et al (2012) in exploring emotion management and its influence on good practice, and appreciate the work done in raising awareness of the links between intuition and emotional intelligence. Notwithstanding these studies, the authors contend that this area has not been well explored to date by our profession. We, too, wish to see an increase in research in this area, and we welcome this vigorous approach to a discourse which is both timely and essential.