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. 2021 Mar;55(1):52-59.
doi: 10.4314/gmj.v55i1.8.

Emotional intelligence in medical students at the University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana

Henry J Lawson  1   2 , Makafui Yigah  3 , Phaedra Yamson  4
Affiliations

Emotional intelligence in medical students at the University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana

Henry J Lawson et al. Ghana Med J. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Emotional Intelligence is a form of interpersonal intelligence. There's evidence that high emotional intelligence (EQ) of a medical student is associated with better coping with the tedious medical training. We evaluated EQ in medical students in their clinical years. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), Accra. In all, 111 students completed the questionnaires. Their average age was 24±1.5 years with marginal male preponderance. There were 37, 31 and 43 students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd clinical years respectively. For global scores, 16 (14.1%) had good EQ (>120) with a mean total score of 105.49. The mean EQ for males was 104.2±17 and 106.2±12 for females, however this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.319). Mean EQ for 1st, 2nd and 3rd clinical years were 104.4±13, 104.4±20, and 107.1±12. This rise with increasing years was however not significant (p=0.659). EQ showed a weak positive correlation with age (r=0.1) but this was not significant (p=0.29). We report low EQ among students of the UGMS with no significant difference between gender, age and clinical year. EQ should be actively taught as part of the curriculum in UGMS. A larger study involving other medical schools in Ghana is recommended.

Funding: None Declared.

Keywords: Accra; EQ; Emotional Intelligence; Ghana; Medical Student.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Characteristics of respondents
Figure 2
Figure 2
Domain Scores for Respondents with Good Emotional Intelligence by clinical years
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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