The nursing students who are taking the diploma Psychology of Care, attended a new seminar of those planned by the Study program. On this occasion, the Alumni Rebeca García (ENF'02) was present. Under the degree scroll "Developing emotional intelligence in the nursing internship ", the session was framed not only in explaining what emotional intelligence is, but also how to develop it. "When we talk about emotional intelligence we only refer to cognitive intelligence, to know how to do. But there is another that is emotional, which refers to knowing how to be," explained the trainer.

The first to develop this concept was David Goleman, renowned psychologist and lecturer, who asserted that emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize emotions - both our own and those of others - and to manage our response to them. "We can currently identify six basic types of emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust," says García, "and when we ignore them, they accumulate and an emotional charge is produced." Thus, disgust "turns into intolerance and sadness into depression. In general, we have little vocabulary to know what we feel, and that is where emotions and feelings clash." Regarding the latter, the nurse assured that "where we can influence thoughts, which, added to an emotion, is what produces feelings".

Dynamics and implementation internship

In order to learn how to develop emotional intelligence, García proposed to the students several dynamics to work on it. For example, a follow-up diary for ten days in which three emotions a day must be identified, detailing sensations such as body, emotion, intensity, thought, expression, consequences and feelings. In this way, once the period of time is over, you can see those emotions that we have in a more recurrent way and know if we know how to express and identify them. "You know yourself when you are able to identify your thoughts and their influence, emotions, body language, strengths and weaknesses, needs, goals and purposes" said Garcia.