An Evaluation of How Government Hospital Critical Care Unit Nurses in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, Use Emotional Intelligence for Stress Management and Patient Care

Nurses must manage their stress and negative emotions for the sake of their patients, families, and the healthcare team, as nursing is a physically demanding profession. Individuals with elevated emotional intelligence find patient care more manageable due to their capacity to regulate their own stress levels. This study aims to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence on stress management inside a public hospital in Gwalior, along with the relationship between emotional intelligence and its levels among intensive care unit nurses. Fifty registered nurses from public hospitals in intensive care units completed self-report questionnaires for this cross-sectional descriptive study. Researchers employed a simple sampling strategy to recruit their subjects. We conducted a data analysis. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. The results indicated that intensive care unit nurses had moderate to high levels of emotional intelligence, with an average score of 4.2 on a 5-point scale. A significant inverse correlation (r = -0.55, p < 0.01) was identified between emotional intelligence and reported strain levels, indicating that persons with elevated emotional intelligence are more adept at managing stress. The regression analysis results indicated that emotional intelligence positively influences first-class patient care (β = 0.48, p < 0.01), signifying that nurses with high emotional intelligence provide superior care. Studies indicate that emotionally intelligent intensive care unit nurses are more adept at managing stress and delivering superior patient care. Key words: Emotional Intelligence, ICU nurses, cross sectional descriptive study, stress management.