bs_bs_banner

International Journal of Nursing Practice 2015; 21: 876–881

RESEARCH PAPER

The relationship between characteristics of

nursing performance and years of experience in
nurses with high emotional intelligence
Yuriko Fujino RN PhD
Associate Professor, Fukuoka Jogakuin Nursing College, Fukuoka, Japan

Michiko Tanaka RN PhD

Assistant Professor, R&D Laboratory for Innovative Biotherapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

Yoshikazu Yonemitsu MD PhD FAHA

Professor, R&D Laboratory for Innovative Biotherapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

Rieko Kawamoto RN MA PhD

Executive Officer, Japanese Nursing Association, Tokyo, Japan

Accepted for publication August 2013

Fujino Y, Tanaka M, Yonemitsu Y, Kawamoto R. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2015; 21: 876–881
The relationship between characteristics of nursing performance and years of experience in nurses
with high emotional intelligence

The aim of this study was to elucidate characteristics of nursing performance among nurses with high emotional
intelligence (EI) and examine the influence of years of experience on nursing performance and EI. A survey, including The
Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance, was administered to 1395 nurses
working at general hospitals in Japan from November 2010 to March 2011. We received 1045 responses (76% response
rate). There was a significant positive correlation between EI and nursing performance. Nurses with high EI reported more
professional development activities, suggesting that they continue learning, attain licenses and actively improve their
nursing skills. High-performing nurses had high situational abilities and showed improved nursing performance with
experience. However, nurses with low situational abilities demonstrated no improvement in nursing performance related
to experience. EI involves skills that can be acquired from training. Therefore, educational programmes to improve EI
could improve nursing performance.
Key words: Emotional Intelligence Scale (EQS), emotional intelligence, nursing performance, Six-Dimension Scale
of Nursing Performance (6DS).

Correspondence: Yuriko Fujino, R&D Laboratory for Innovative

Biotherapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu INTRODUCTION
University, Room 601, Station II for Collaborative Research, 3-1-1 Nursing is a profession based on interpersonal relation-
Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. Email: fyuriko@ ships and is regarded as emotional labour because it
med.kyushu-u.ac.jp involves assessing and controlling the emotions of oneself

doi:10.1111/ijn.12311 © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd

877
and others1; therefore, improvement of emotional intel-
ligence (EI), which is the ability to deal effectively with
interpersonal relationships and emotions, is essential for
nurses. Goleman proposed the concept of EI2 that is
involved in coping with stress and with demands and
pressures brought about by environmental changes in the
workplace, such as organizational changes.3 In leadership,
not only technical skills but also skills in responding to
co-workers, bosses and subordinates based on EI are
important as well.2 In the West, EI has been applied in
circumstances of employment, placement, promotion,
training and stress management in actual personnel
administration.4
Previous studies examining EI in the nursing field have
suggested that nursing managers who have high EI signifi-
cantly contribute to nursing care, staff and the organiza-
tion as a whole,5,6 and are effective in preventing burnout
and facilitating stress management.7,8 Thus, EI is necessary
to keep nurses physically and mentally healthy. Moreover,
there have been increasing numbers of studies focused
on educating and training EI ability as EI is related to
leadership and decision-making5,6,9 which strongly affect
patient care.10,11
What are the characteristics of nursing performance
among nurses who have high EI? EI plays an important
role in nurses’ ability to develop trusting relationships
with patients.7 It would be anticipated that nurses with
high EI demonstrate high nursing performance. However,
few studies have compared nursing performance using an
objective index. Codier et al.12 examined the relationship
of EI and level of nursing performance, as indicated by
position on the clinical ladder. They revealed that nurses
who had high EI had high nursing performance and career
longevity. However, specific characteristics of nursing
performance related to EI have not been clearly identified.
Using the Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Perfor-
mance (6DS),13 an instrument in use since 1978 as an
index of nursing performance, Beauvais et al.10 analysed
the relationship of scores on the six dimensions with
EI. However, their sample comprised only nursing
students.10
What are the characteristics of EI among high-
performing nurses? Kooker et al.14 performed qualitative
research regarding domains and competencies related to
EI among certified nurses. They showed that the most
effective EI domain was social awareness, and that those
who had high nursing performance effectively managed
social situations in their nursing practice. The Emotional
© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
Y Fujino et al.
Intelligence Scale (EQS) measures EI and includes a situ-
ational domain.15 Research using the EQS has shown the
importance of the situational domain for nurses. Situ-
ational judgment is necessary for nurses’ mental health16
and can be improved by self-awareness training for newly
graduated nurses.17 Nurses working in a fast-changing
modern society must be able to make situational judg-
ments in interpersonal relationships, yet few studies have
examined the relationship between nursing performance
and situational aspects of EI.
Furthermore, do years of experience affect the rela-
tionship between nursing performance and EI? Although
there is research revealing a negative correlation between
age and emotional empathy,11 there is a dearth of research
examining EI and experience. EI might be acquired
through education and training.2,18 Thus, if experience
does not improve EI, we should evaluate current teaching
methods.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the
characteristics of nursing performance among nurses who
have high EI and the influence of years of experience on
the relationship between EI and nursing performance.
Our findings have implications for effective educational
methods aimed at developing EI and thus improving
nursing performance.
METHODS
Participants
Participants were 1395 nurses working at general hospi-
tals. We asked directors of nursing departments to
cooperate in the study and included those hospitals that
agreed to participate. The researchers explained the aim
and ethical considerations of the questionnaire to the
directors or head nurses and asked them to distribute it.
Upon completion, questionnaire forms were sealed by
respondents and collected in each department within
2 weeks. The questionnaire was administered from
November 2010 to March 2011.
Data collection
The self-report questionnaire collected information on
age, sex, years of experience, position (management,
staff) and educational background (graduate school, uni-
versity, 2 year college, technical school) as individual
attributes.
Emotional intelligence was measured using the 65-item
EQS developed by Uchiyama et al.15 The reliability and
validity of this instrument have been established. The scale
Performance and emotional intelligence
Figure 1. Conceptual and operational struc-
ture of the Emotional Intelligence Scale.
comprises three factors in each of three domains:
intrapersonal (self-awareness, self-motivation, self-
control), interpersonal (empathy, altruism, interpersonal
relationships) and situational (situational awareness, lead-
ership, flexibility) (Fig. 1). The response choice for each
item is recorded on a 5-point Likert scale, with larger
numbers indicating a higher level of emotional intelli-
gence. The total score for the scale is 0 to 252.
Cronbach’s alpha for this study was 0.91.
Nursing performance was measured using the 6DS
developed by Schwirian.13 This scale divides nursing per-
formance into 52 items in six domains (leadership, critical
care, teaching and collaboration, planning and evaluation,
interpersonal relationships and communication, and pro-
fessional development).
After obtaining permission from the developer of the
scale, the researchers and others translated and re-
translated the 6DS for use in this study. The scale was first
translated by a nurse who had more than 10 years’ experi-
ence in the English-speaking world and a non-medical
professional with a specialty in English literature. To
confirm the validity of the content, the scale was exam-
ined at meetings of five nursing researchers who had a
master’s degree or higher education and more than 5
years of clinical experience. Furthermore, to ensure
equivalence with the original, back translation was imple-
mented by a bilingual undergraduate student and a nurse
who had more than 2 years’ experience studying abroad,
and who had not seen the original 6DS. When the scale
was used in the survey, the Cronbach’s coefficient alpha
was 0.92 for the whole scale and 0.90–0.91 for each
subscale.
Ethical considerations
We explained in writing the following information, and
regarded answering the questionnaire as an indication of
participants’ consent. The survey was conducted on an
878
anonymous basis, and the data were processed using code
numbers so that individuals could not be identified.
Answering the questions was voluntary, with no disad-
vantage resulting from not answering them. The study
was conducted after obtaining approval of the Kyushu
University Hospital Ethics Committee in October 2010.
Data analysis
Statistical software JMP version 9 was used for data analy-
ses (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). We calculated
demographic data for each individual attribute, EQS and
nursing performance. Then Pearson’s product-moment
correlation coefficients were calculated to ascertain the
relation between EI and nursing performance. Moreover,
a two-way analysis of variance was performed to examine
the influence of years of experience on the relationship
between nursing performance and EI. This was done by
dividing the most effective scores of EI into high and low
groups and years of experience into four categories.
RESULTS
Characteristics of the participants
We distributed the questionnaire to 1395 nurses and
received responses from 1060. Of those, 1045 question-
naires without missing data were analysed in the study
(collection rate 76.0%; valid response rate 96.2%).
Characteristics of the participants are shown in
Table 1. The average age was 32.1 ± 9.0 years (range
20–60 years), and 986 were women (94.4%). By posi-
tion, there were 115 managers (11.0%) and 930 staff
(89%). years of experience ranged from 1 to 41 years,
with an average of 9.9 years (SD ± 9.1). The breakdown
by highest academic degree was as follows: 412 technical
school graduates (39.6%), 220 two-year college gradu-
ates (21.2%), 391 university graduates (37.6%) and 11
graduate school graduates (1.1%).
© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
879 Y Fujino et al.

Table 1 Characteristics of the participants (n = 1045) positive correlation (r = 0.45, P < 0.001) between the
two scales. That is, those who had high EI also had high
Characteristic n % nursing performance.
The relations between total EQS score and scores on
Age (years) 20–29 557 53.5 subscales of the 6DS were significantly different among
30–39 287 27.6 the subscales. The strongest positive correlation was
40–49 124 11.9
between EQS and the professional development subscale
50–60 73 7.0
(r = 0.44).
Gender Male 59 5.6
Female 986 94.4
Regarding the relation between total 6DS score and
Position Manager 115 11.0 subscales of the EQS, the strongest positive correlation
Nursing staff 930 89.0 was between total 6DS score and the situational domain
Nursing experience (years) 1–5 412 46.9 (r = 0.49). Both the interpersonal and situational
6–10 177 20.0 domains of the EQS were strongly related to nursing
11–20 164 18.7 performance. With regard to factors in the intrapersonal
21–41 126 14.3 domain, self-awareness (r = 0.40) showed a modestly
Degree Diploma 412 39.6 strong positive correlation with total 6DS score.
Associate 220 21.2 A two-way analysis of variance was performed to
BS 391 37.6 examine the influence of years of experience on the rela-
MS 11 1.1 tionship between nursing performance and EI, using the
situational domain, which was the most effective type of
EI. The results showed significant differences in the two
EQS levels of situational abilities (F = 98.5, P < 0.001) and
We evaluated EI using the Japanese version of the EQS.
four categories of years of experience (F = 23.2,
The EQS average total score of participants was 113.3
P < 0.001). The group with high situational abilities
(SD ± 31.3), with a range of 27–218. Scores for the
showed high nursing performance, with their perfor-
subscales were as follows: intrapersonal domain 37.5
mance improving with years of experience. The group
(SD ± 10.6, range 7–73), interpersonal domain 41.1
with low situational abilities, in contrast, demonstrated
(SD ± 11.8, range 6–78) and situational domain 34.8
no improvement in their nursing performance related to
(SD ± 34.8, range 3–78). Results showed that among
years of experience (Fig. 2). There was no interaction
participants in this study, scores for the interpersonal
between EI and years of experience in terms of nursing
domain were the highest.
performance.

Nursing performance DISCUSSION

The mean score on the 6DS, which is the subject’s total
score divided by the number of items, was 2.82
(SD ± 18.9). Scores for subscales of the 6DS were the
following: leadership (M = 2.74, SD ± 2.42), critical
care (M = 2.74, SD ± 3.47), teaching and collaboration
(M = 2.74, SD ± 3.47), planning and evaluation (M =
2.90, SD ± 2.78), interpersonal relationships and com-
munication (M = 3.97, SD ± 4.23), and professional
development (M = 2.78, SD ± 4.29).
Relation between EQS and nursing
performance
We investigated Pearson’s correlation coefficients to
examine the relation between total EQS score and total
6DS score (Table 2). Results indicated a modestly strong
Relation between emotional intelligence
and nursing performance
A significant positive correlation was found between EI
and nursing performance. That is, nurses with high EI had
high nursing performance, consistent with results of
Codier et al.12 and Beauvais et al.10
Regarding the relation of total 6DS score with EQS
subscales, nursing performance was most strongly associ-
ated with the situational domain. It was anticipated that
nursing performance would be strongly related to the
interpersonal domain because nursing is based on inter-
personal relationships and involves high empathy and
altruism. However, the relation of nursing performance
with the situational domain of EI, with EQS subscales
including situational awareness, leadership and flexibility,

© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd

Performance and emotional intelligence 880

Table 2 Correlations between emotional intelligence (EQS) and nursing performance (6DS) (n = 1045)

Emotional intelligence

Total score Intrapersonal Interpersonal Situational

Nursing performance Total score 0.45*** 0.42*** 0.28*** 0.49***

Leadership 0.39*** 0.36*** 0.23*** 0.43***
Critical care 0.39*** 0.37*** 0.22*** 0.43***
Teaching and collaboration 0.38*** 0.33*** 0.24*** 0.41***
Planning/evaluation 0.32*** 0.31*** 0.20*** 0.35***
Interpersonal relations and communication 0.40*** 0.38*** 0.34*** 0.39***
Professional development 0.44*** 0.42*** 0.27*** 0.47***

*** P < 0.001. EQS, Emotional Intelligence Scale; 6DS. Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance.

group including oneself and others, and fosters leadership

ability. In other words, the practice of nursing requires
the ability to not merely build relationships easily, but also
to judge the situations of patients and families, respond
with quick wit in various situations (e.g. risk management
and group guidance) and control those situations. We
posit that the relation of nursing performance with the
ability to address such diverse situations was strongest for
these reasons.

Influence of years of experience

Figure 2. Mean score for situational abilities related to nursing
performance by years of experience (n = 1045). ( ) high skill,
( ) low skill.
was the most significant. Akerjordet and Severinsson19
suggested that nurses’ EI is a creative process based on
senses and instincts that allow nurses to immediately grasp
and interpret situations and make decisions. Nurses must
judge emotions arising in themselves and others in inter-
personal interactions and take appropriate actions at that
moment. This might explain the stronger association
between nursing performance and situational abilities.
Skill in the situational domain represents the ability to
endure changes in circumstances surrounding oneself or a
A two-way analysis of variance was performed to examine
the influence of years of experience on the relationship
between situational abilities and nursing performance.
Situational abilities, which are one of the domains of EI,
reflect judgment and adaptability depending on the cir-
cumstances. These abilities are important in practical
nursing areas. This might explain why those with low
situational abilities demonstrated continued difficulties in
their nursing performance despite increasing years of
experience. EI is said to be the essence of nursing4 and can
be acquired from training.2,18 Therefore, introducing edu-
cation in nursing programmes to improve EI should
improve nursing performance.
Characteristics of nurses with high EI
The average total score of EQS confirmed that our sample
was representative in terms of EI ability, and was similar
to results obtained by Uchiyama et al.15 Regarding total
EQS score and the subscales of the 6DS, the highest posi-
tive correlation was found between EQS score and
professional development. Thus, there is a relationship

© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd

881
between high EI and professional development. In a study
by Beauvais et al.,10 EI was most strongly correlated with
professional development, compared with the other
subscales of the 6DS. EI is reportedly related to profes-
sional attitudes and experiences in the development of
nursing knowledge.19,20 Professional development
involves improving one’s own specialty through the acqui-
sition of degrees or other qualifications. To improve their
abilities, nurses must participate in training, acquire new
competencies, and engage in continuous learning and
widely varied activities. In that way, EI can be improved.
Our findings suggest that EI ability is important in improv-
ing professional competence in nursing practice.
Conclusion
Nurses with high EI tend to engage in professional devel-
opment activities. Improved EI in nurses might result from
a desire to develop professionally and a sensitivity for
gathering information from surroundings. In addition,
nurses with a high level of nursing performance have high
situational abilities. They are required to perform appro-
priately by quickly judging their own and others’ emotions
in interpersonal contexts. The EI ability to judge situations
can contribute to high nursing performance. Analysis of the
influence of years of experience revealed that nurses with
high ability in the situational domain showed improved
nursing performance with more years of experience,
whereas nurses with low situational abilities demonstrated
no improvement in their nursing performance with more
years of experience. These findings indicate the necessity of
educational programmes on EI, centred on the situational
domain, as EI is an ability that can be improved by training.
The development of educational programmes related to EI
can facilitate improved performance among nurses and
contribute to their career longevity.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to express our thanks for the contribution
and dedication of all the nurses who participated. This
research was supported by a Grant-in Aid for Scientific
Research (C) 21592696 of the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
REFERENCES
1 Hochschild AR. The Managed Heart: Commercialization of
Human Feeling. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of California
Press, 1983.
© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd
Y Fujino et al.
2 Goleman D. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam
Books, 1995.
3 Bar-On R. The impact of emotional intelligence on subjec-
tive well-being. Perspective in Education 2005; 23: 22.
4 Matthews G, Zeidner M, Robers R. Emotional Intelligence:
Science and Myth. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, 2004.
5 Muller-Smith P. Yet another workplace crisis. Journal of
Perianesthesia Nursing 1999; 14: 217–220.
6 Snow JL. Looking beyond nursing for clues to effective
leadership. Journal of Nursing Administration 2001; 31: 440–
443.
7 McQueen A. Emotional intelligence in nursing work.
Journal of Advanced Nursing 2004; 47: 101–108.
8 Moyer BA, Wittmann-Price R. Nursing Education: Founda-
tions for Practice Excellence. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis, 2008
(R2 Library, online service).
9 Chabeli M. Higher order thinking skills competencies
required by outcomes-based education from leaders.
Curationis 2006; 29: 78–86.
10 Beauvais AM, Brady N, O’Shea ER, Griffin MT. Emotional
intelligence and nursing performance among nursing stu-
dents. Nurse Education Today 2011; 31: 396–401.
11 Harper MG, Jones-Schenk J. The emotional intelligence
profile of successful staff nurses. The Journal of Continuing
Education in Nursing 2012; 43: 354–362.
12 Codier E, Kooker BM, Shoultz J. Measuring the emotional
intelligence of clinical staff nurses: An approach for improv-
ing the clinical care environment. Nursing Administration
Quarterly 2008; 32: 8–14.
13 Schwirian PM. Evaluating the performance of nurses: A
multidimensional approach. Nursing Research 1978; 27:
347–351.
14 Kooker BM, Shoultz J, Codier EE. Identifying emotional
intelligence in professional nursing practice. Journal of
Professional Nursing 2007; 23: 30–36.
15 Uchiyama K, Torii T, Urugi S, Ootake K. EQS Manyuaru
[Manual]. Tokyo: Business Education, 2001.
16 Kitahara N, Bohgaki T, Yamamoto H. Relationships of the
subjective well-being and emotional intelligence for nurses.
International Nursing Care Research 2011; 10: 11–19.
17 Kusaka K. Effectiveness of a programmed lecture on self-
understanding of emotion and autonomy in novice nurses.
The Kitakanto Medical Journal 2010; 60: 353–361.
18 Mayer JD, Salovey P. Emotional intelligence and the con-
struction and regulation of feelings. Applied and Preventive
Psychology 1995; 4: 197–208.
19 Akerjordet K, Severinsson E. Emotional intelligence in
mental health nurses talking about practice. International
Journal of Mental Health Nursing 2004; 13: 164–170.
20 Jordan PJ, Troth AC. Emotional intelligence and conflict
resolution in nursing. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the
Australian Nursing Profession 2002; 13: 94–100.