Emotions matter in medicine and uni applicants have theirs assessed
A Gold Coast university is testing whether emotional intelligence can help students graduate and become better doctors.
The role of emotional intelligence in medicine long has been debated but now a university at Queensland’s Gold Coast is testing whether it can help students graduate and become better doctors.
Bond University has introduced emotional intelligence testing as part of the selection process for its medical program. Bond’s intake of 120, unlike that at other universities, goes only to full-fee paying students, with more than 1000 applications every year.
Previously, Bond would select 240 students with an Australian Tertiary Entrance Rank of 99 for interviews to select the final 120 students. This year, it invited 540 students with an ATAR of 96 or above to take an EI test, with the top 240 then progressing to the interview stage.
New dean of medicine Kirsty Forrest says some members of the May intake made it through with an ATAR of under 99 — which previously would have put them out of contention — and she hopes they will be well prepared for the rigours of university and whatever follows.
“The cohort we’ve picked were at the high end of emotional intelligence,” Forrest says.
Traditionally, EI has been regarded as important in ensuring doctors are not just academically intelligent but also compassionate and empathetic, with a “good bedside manner”.
In recent years, however, the role of EI has featured in the debate over the mental health of medical students, the high rate of doctor suicides, and concerns over bullying and sexism in some professions.
Regulatory authorities are considering personality traits alongside clinical skills.
Forrest says she has followed the debate over EI testing and its educational and regulatory potential, and says she believes Bond is courageous in adapting with the times. She says the experienced interviewers anecdotally noted subtle differences in the latest intake that may bode well for the future.
“I still work professionally as an anaesthetist and I occasionally see doctors and the way they behave, or rather how patients are treated, and think: ‘This isn’t right,’ ” Forrest says.
“As dean of medicine, I have responsibility for students as well, before they become doctors.
“The kind of competitiveness that is bred into them to get into medical school, to compete for places, isn’t good for them. What are they going to be like in the outside world, working with others, in what is meant to be a caring profession?”
Bond senior teaching fellow Anna Bannatyne, a registered clinical psychologist, says the EI testing is evidence-based and conducted by an external organisation specialising in psychometric assessments.
“The test looks at how well an individual can recognise, understand and manage emotions in oneself and in others, and how this information is then used to guide an individual’s thinking and actions,” Bannatyne says.
“We are now looking at ways to use the EI test in future learning, including discussing with students how they can enhance their EI through various activities such as self-reflective practice, emotion awareness and regulation activities, understanding emotional facilitation of thinking and communication skills training.
“Our message is that students need to work on developing their emotional intelligence in the same way they work on their academic performance, emphasising the fact that both IQ and EI are important to be a successful doctor.”
Forrest says the students’ progress will be monitored closely and evaluated — “we can’t help ourselves, we’re a university” — and other institutions have expressed interest.
Importantly, the Bond students who are the first to undertake EI testing also see merit in it.
Eileen Truong, 29, says: “It’s refreshing to know the university not only values our high grades but our ability to connect with people too.
“Doctors need to constantly communicate with fellow staff, patients and family members, so being equipped with the tools for effective communication is of paramount importance.”
Saleha Khan, 19, believes their intake is different — “you immediately recognise the welcoming personalities and ease of interaction among the students”.
Sebastien Chin, 19, says doctors need to be socially capable and able to work with others.
“A large part of that is empathy, and if you can’t be empathetic and read emotions then I don’t think the healthcare system is somewhere you should be working,” Chin says.
Bond’s move into EI testing is part of a broader push to make medical training more relevant to the future needs of patients and the Australian health system.
In 2015, an independent review commissioned by the Council of Australian Governments found graduates “enter the system highly qualified from a variety of university medical programs, but with often limited experience in actual patient care and no baseline of work-ready capabilities they are expected to meet”.
Last year, research published in the Medical Journal of Australia revealed at least 10 per cent of graduates from another medical school felt they were not well prepared — even unprepared — for six of 44 practice areas examined.