Medical studies, team roles and emotional intelligence

Background
Effective teamwork in medicine may contribute not only to the increase of job satisfaction, but also to a higher quality of patient care.

Objectives
The goal of the study is to investigate the differences between medical and nursing students, male and female, and as well as first and fifth year students in the context of: teamwork, level of emotional intelligence, stress and satisfaction with their chosen studies.

Material and methods
200 students took part in the research. Team roles were measured by Team Role Inventory; emotional intelligence was measured by Emotional Intelligence Inventory; stress and satisfaction were measured by a self-designed survey.

Results
Medical students presented higher levels of individualism, lower levels of emotional intelligence, as well as higher levels of stress related to their studies and higher satisfaction with the chosen studies. Nursing students were more focused on teamwork. Female students were more diligent, honest and systematic. No significant differences between the genders were found in terms of the level of stress or satisfaction. The style of cooperation involving intellect and knowledge was negatively correlated with emotional intelligence. During the course of studies, this specific style is diminished, while there is no change in the level of emotional intelligence.

Conclusions
Emotional intelligence skills and the ability to cooperate were shown to be areas of deficit in the group of medical students. It seems that more developed training on social skills is needed during medical education, which may be beneficial in the future relations of doctors with their patients and co-workers.