Prevalence of Emotional Intelligence in Students at a Medical College in Pakistan

Background: Traditional thinking places high Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as the most important predictor of success but its contribution is only half that of Emotional Intelligence (EI), the ability to manage emotions. EI encompasses several skills, all of which need to be mastered for professional and personal success. Objectives: To determine the emotional intelligence level of medical students at a private medical college in Lahore, Pakistan, and to see its association with gender and years of study. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2022. Convenience Sampling was used to select 370 medical students at a private college in Lahore, Pakistan, who filled out a questionnaire to measure their emotional intelligence. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis. Results: The majority scored in the middle range of EI, with a mean score of 58.6±7.8 (out of a possible lowest score of 20 and highest of 80). There was a significant association of EI with gender as well as with years of study. Males had higher total EI scores than females (p.002), as well as higher mean EI score of 59.9±8 compared to 56.9±7.3 for females (p.001). Students from higher classes had higher total scores as well as higher mean scores than those from lower classes (p.001) and (p.001) respectively. Conclusions: Half the respondents got mid-range EI scores. While there were very few low scores, only a third scored in the desirable higher ranges indicating a need for counselling.