The increasing complexity of healthcare needs around the world – particularly among older adults, who represent a growing demographic in many societies – necessitates a well-prepared nursing workforce that is equipped with the skills and knowledge to provide high-quality, holistic care (Reis da Silva, 2024). Emotional Intelligence (EI), defined as the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others, is a critical component of preparation for today’s healthcare careers.
In the context of nursing education, high EI can enhance communication, empathy, and interpersonal relationships among students and faculty, thereby creating a more inclusive learning environment (da Silva, 2022). By integrating EI training into nursing curricula, educators can equip students with the skills necessary to engage effectively with patients from a variety of backgrounds, navigate diverse healthcare settings where cultural sensitivity and emotional awareness are paramount, and ultimately improve patient care outcomes.
To develop robust, EI-informed nursing programs that enable inclusivity and prepare graduates for the contemporary healthcare workforce, a collaborative effort is needed by higher education institutions, oversight bodies, healthcare providers, and policymakers. Attention is needed to three key areas: curriculum and content, pedagogy, and infrastructure and support.
Curriculum and content
To effectively prepare nursing students for the complexities of modern healthcare, curricula must be adapted to meet the diverse needs of populations, and address health issues in a holistic manner. Elements of such a holistic approach include:
Gerontological content. The integration of gerontological content into healthcare curricula is essential for equipping nursing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide age-appropriate and dignified care (Reis da Silva, 2025). Key areas of focus include falls prevention, dementia care, mobility support, end-of-life communication, and polypharmacy management. Falls prevention is especially critical since falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults and often result in a diminished quality of life, increased morbidity, and mortality.
Cultural competence and sensitivity. As populations become increasingly multicultural, future nurses must be equipped to effectively communicate with and provide care for culturally and linguistically diverse populations (Bell, 2020). Training in cultural competence can enhance healthcare professionals’ ability to deliver patient-centered care that respects the values and beliefs of their clients (Reis da Silva, 2025). Furthermore, language training or access to medical translation services can help bridge communication gaps and foster relationships built on mutual respect and understanding, thus improving health outcomes for marginalized groups (Reis da Silva, 2025).
Interdisciplinary training. Providing opportunities for nursing students to collaborate with professionals in fields such as social work, public health, and gerontology fosters a holistic, integrated approach to patient care (Davies, et al, 2025). Curricular collaborations can take various forms, including jointly taught courses and collaborative projects. Clinical placements in diverse settings, such as community health organizations or interprofessional teams, can further enrich nursing students’ educational experiences and prepare them for the real-world complexities of patient care (Jarva et al, 2021).
Global health issues. Global health issues present opportunities for nursing students to understand the social determinants of health that influence health outcomes across communities and countries (Huffman et al, 2020). By engaging in discussions and projects related to global health, students can learn to apply their knowledge in diverse settings, fostering a comprehensive perspective on health equity (Reis da Silva, 2024). Collaborating with institutions in different countries can facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices, ultimately promoting a more profound commitment to global health initiatives and policy advocacy (Reis da Silva, 2024).
Digital literacy training. In today’s healthcare landscape, digital literacy training is necessary to ensure that nursing students can effectively utilize modern tools and resources (Reis da Silva, 2025). This includes training in electronic health records, telehealth platforms, and other digital communication tools (Reis da Silva, 2025). Learning to navigate these technologies is crucial as healthcare increasingly relies on digital interfaces for clinical practice and communication with patients and colleagues (Liu et al, 2025). Moreover, digital literacy enriches students’ capabilities in providing comprehensive care across various platforms and geographic locations, supported by the integration of digital health tools into healthcare delivery models (Etminani et al, 2020).
Self-awareness and empathy. Developing self-awareness and empathy is vital for navigating the challenges of diverse learning environments and enhancing interactions with peers and patients (Reis da Silva, 2025). Educational content aimed at fostering these skills can include reflective practices, simulated patient interactions, and emotional intelligence training (Hayden et al, 2014) . Programs that incorporate creative reflection projects have been shown to enhance students’ understanding of their biases and emotional responses, fostering empathy and improving patient care interactions (Levett-Jones et al, 2020). This focus on emotional intelligence promotes self-regulation and awareness while equipping students with the interpersonal skills needed to form trusting relationships with their patients (Bell, 2020).
Pedagogy
Research indicates that nursing students with higher levels of EI are more likely to engage in collaborative learning and demonstrate resilience in the face of challenges (Reis da Silva, 2025). Pedagogical approaches that incorporate and encourage the development of EI include:
Reflective practice, role-playing, and group discussions. These techniques can enhance students’ emotional awareness and interpersonal skills (Reis da Silva, 2025), promote a deeper understanding of nursing concepts, and encourage students to develop the empathy and communication skills necessary for effective patient care.
Holistic assessment methods. Innovative assessment methodologies in nursing education stress the incorporation of social and emotional competencies (Reis da Silva, 2025). These methods can include reflective journaling, peer evaluations, and patient feedback mechanisms (CHPCA, 2022). Holistic assessments can be coupled with other forms of evaluation to promote critical thinking and personal insights, as noted in research that discusses how innovative assessments prepare students for real-world challenges by ensuring they develop a more robust understanding of holistic nursing practices (Devaki, 2024).
Hands-on training in real-world settings. This includes supervised clinical placements, simulation-based learning, and interprofessional collaborations in diverse healthcare environments. Such experiences allow students to apply emotional intelligence in practice and build self-efficacy.
Infrastructure and policy support
While curriculum and pedagogy are at the core of delivering EI competencies, broader systemic support, with engagement of stakeholders throughout the healthcare system, is required for the development and sustainability of EI-informed nursing programs and practice. The following areas merit particular attention, both for the challenges they present and emerging models and solutions.
Funding. Access to high-quality nursing education, particularly for students from underrepresented and minority groups, is inextricably linked to the availability and adequacy of funding (Zhang & Wood, 2021). While governments and healthcare providers in many countries offer direct financial support to students as part of broader workforce development strategies, funding initiatives specifically tied to EI-related competencies remain rare.
Among the existing examples of such funding, most thus far have come from the philanthropic sector. In the US, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), has supported leadership development programs for nurses that emphasize communication, resilience, and cultural humility—core components of emotional intelligence (RWJF, 2020). Similarly, in the UK, organizations such as the Health Foundation and the Wellcome Trust have funded research and educational pilots focused on enhancing compassion, communication, and self-awareness in health professionals, though these are not always framed explicitly as EI (The Heath Foundation, 2021).
Regulatory and accreditation frameworks. Regulatory frameworks exert significant influence on curriculum design, clinical learning environments, and assessment strategies. However, they may also inhibit innovation, especially when narrowly focused on traditional models of clinical competence.
In the United States, for example, state boards of nursing and accrediting bodies such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) mandate a specified number of clinical placement hours for licensure eligibility. These requirements are traditionally fulfilled through in-person clinical rotations in approved healthcare settings. Although the NCSBN National Simulation Study (Hayden et al, 2014) found that up to 50% of clinical hours could be effectively replaced with high-fidelity simulation without compromising outcomes, many jurisdictions have been slow to adopt flexible models. This creates a clinical bottleneck, limiting student enrollment and preventing the integration of innovative teaching methods, including EI-focused simulations and scenario-based reflective practice (Mills et al, 2021).
In contrast, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the UK has allowed greater curricular flexibility, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2018 NMC standards emphasize core communication and teamwork skills, and allow for the partial substitution of clinical hours with simulation-based education (NMC, 2018). However, the standards do not explicitly include EI as a competency, nor do they provide frameworks for its assessment. Elsewhere, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC, 2021) and the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN, 2015) have begun integrating relational practice, empathy, and reflective capacity into their graduate outcome expectations. These align closely with EI constructs, offering international models for embedding emotional competencies into core professional standards.
Continuing education for practicing nurses. For nurses educated under traditional biomedical models, continuing professional development (CPD) is a key mechanism for retroactively integrating EI competencies into clinical practice. In Canada, EI and compassion-focused programs are part of national CPD curricula in palliative and oncology nursing (CASN, 2015). In the US, initiatives like the Mindful Nurse Leader Program aim to enhance self-regulation, team collaboration, and emotionally intelligent leadership (Shirey, 2021). The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in the UK has issued policy guidance on supporting emotional wellbeing and resilience in the nursing workforce, recommending CPD courses on emotional self-management, especially for those in high-stress and leadership roles (RCN, 2022).
Despite these efforts, CPD access is not universal, and uptake remains uneven across demographic groups. Targeted EI CPD programs could help mitigate intergenerational and socio-educational disparities, particularly among nurses from minority backgrounds who may have faced systemic barriers to reflective and relational learning earlier in their training.
Conclusion and future directions
As healthcare systems grapple with rising complexity, emotional labor, and persistent health inequities, the integration of Emotional Intelligence into nursing education and professional development becomes not just desirable but necessary. For underrepresented and minority populations—both as patients and as members of the nursing workforce—EI competencies offer a pathway to more inclusive, ethical, and culturally responsive care. However, the success of EI-focused curricula and practice depends on strategic alignment between educational innovation and systemic infrastructure. The following priorities are proposed:
- Funding alignment: Expand financial aid and scholarship opportunities that explicitly support EI-based educational pathways, particularly for students from underrepresented groups.
- Regulatory reform: Encourage accreditation bodies to formally include EI as a competency area, while supporting curricular innovation such as simulation, narrative medicine, and interdisciplinary training.
- Lifelong learning: Develop and scale EI-focused CPD programs for the existing workforce, particularly targeting leadership, resilience, and reflective practice.
Future research should assess the longitudinal impact of EI education on patient outcomes, staff retention, and workplace culture, with attention to intersectional equity in access and outcomes. Cross-national comparative studies could also inform regulatory harmonization, while participatory action research may help center the voices of minoritized nurses in curriculum co-design.
Ultimately, Emotional Intelligence should be seen not as a peripheral attribute, but as a core professional capacity essential to justice, empathy, and quality care in the diverse, pluralistic settings where nurses operate.
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About the author
Tiago Horta Reis da Silva is a Lecturer in Nursing Education (Adult Nursing) at the Florence Nightingale Faculty, King’s College London. A Registered Nurse and Senior Fellow of the HEA, he holds multiple postgraduate qualifications in clinical education, nursing, and traditional medicine. Email: tiago.horta_reis_da_silva@kcl.ac.uk.
Photo credit: PICRYL
