We are often asked if there are any studies to show the relation between a high EQ and healthcare workers. Some doctors, nurses and carers might not be the most empathetic or good at building trust and relationships with their patients.
The requirements for students to get into medical school requires the very highest grades, and it’s not nearly as certain that the most clever and intelligent are also the most suited to be healthcare professionals. We know that there actually is no correlation between IQ and EQ, these are two entirely different skills and some may have high IQ and low EQ, or vice versa.
In a study from the Medical College of Georgia 232 patients assessed how satisfied they were with their doctors and, to everyone’s surprise, it turned out that the doctors who received the highest ratings also were those who had the highest EQ values.
The most important skills of the highest rated healthcare workers were:
joie de vivre
social responsibility
optimism
So next time you see your doctor, it may be wise to try and see how happy and satisfied he / she seems to be, as a happy doctor probably will be a good doctor.