Development of emotional intelligence and assertiveness in physiotherapy students and effects of clinical placements

BACKGROUND

Emotional intelligence (EI) and assertiveness are key abilities for physiotherapists. Clinical placements seem to affect students' development of EI and assertiveness, and their construction of the professional role.

PURPOSE

This study aims to compare the EI of physiotherapy students with students from other health professions and explore the evolution of EI and assertiveness in physiotherapy students throughout their university education, focusing on the influence of clinical practice.

METHOD

Students (N = 753) completed a self-administered questionnaire to measure emotional intelligence (TMMS 24), assertiveness (CSES), and sociodemographic variables.

RESULTS

EI levels were adequate and very similar across the three disciplines. Regarding assertiveness, physiotherapy students in year 4 obtained significantly higher levels than students in years 1, 2, and 3. Significant correlations (rs (207) = 0.35, p < .001) were found between assertiveness and the number of modules of clinical practice.

CONCLUSION

This study contributes with further evidence on the improvement of assertiveness in physiotherapy students through their university education and, in particular, with clinical placements. Practical implications highlight the importance of training in EI and assertiveness during university, coupled with clinical placements, in order to prepare for an effective and satisfactory professional life.

Parents and Physiotherapists Recognition of Non-Verbal Communication of Pain in Individuals with Cerebral Palsy

Pain assessment is difficult in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). This is of particular relevance in children with communication difficulties, when non-verbal pain behaviors could be essential for appropriate pain recognition. Parents are considered good proxies in the recognition of pain in their children; however, health professionals also need a good understanding of their patients' pain experience. This study aims at analyzing the agreement between parents' and physiotherapists' assessments of verbal and non-verbal pain behaviors in individuals with CP. A written survey about pain characteristics and non-verbal pain expression of 96 persons with CP (45 classified as communicative, and 51 as non-communicative individuals) was performed. Parents and physiotherapists displayed a high agreement in their estimations of the presence of chronic pain, healthcare seeking, pain intensity and pain interference, as well as in non-verbal pain behaviors. Physiotherapists and parents can recognize pain behaviors in individuals with CP regardless of communication disabilities.

Emotional variables, dropout and academic performance in Spanish nursing students

The dropout of university studies is a main concern in many countries, also for Health Sciences degrees. The reviews on dropout in all university degrees as well as nursing generally show multidimensional causes with factors related both to institutional and students' characteristics. Regarding the personal variables of students, researchers have focused on financial, family and personality features. Far less attention has been devoted to emotional variables. This study aims to explore whether individual variables of the emotional domain such as perceived emotional intelligence, dispositional optimism/pessimism and depressive rumination are related and/or can predict students' intention to dropout and academic performance. Using a cross-correlational approach, data were obtained from a sample of 144 nursing students. Students with a pessimistic disposition revealed a greater tendency to drop out. The remaining variables correlated significantly with pessimism but had no predictive value on dropout. Our results suggest that students with low levels of emotional clarity and repair and high depressive rumination have pessimistic expectations, so they are more likely to leave studies. No significant results were found in relation to academic performance. We conclude with an identification of strategies to increase retention and academic success.

[Student stress in clinical practice for nurses]

Stress is an adaptive phenomenon of human beings which, to a high degree, contributes to their survival, to an adequate output in their activities, and to an effective performance in many phases of life. But all of us know and have experienced the disagreeable aspects of stress at least once. During their academic lives, nursing students who fulfill their clinical practice are exposed to suffer symptoms specific to nursing in the field of stress.