Background: Predicting potential student success is of great interest to nursing educators and academic admin-istrators alike. Cumulative grade point average (CGPA) has traditionally been used to screen nursing programcandidates, but CGPA itself has shown to have no statistically significant predictive value and may in fact screenout individuals who possess social intelligence attributes that are essential for success in nursing practice. Thepurpose of this study is to determine if students whose emotional intelligence characteristics meet or exceedthose of successful staff nurses are more likely to be successful in a baccalaureate nursing program.Methods: A descriptive, correlational design was used to compare the emotional intelligence attributes of 116
potential nursing students and 42 successful staff nurses using the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i).Results: Nursing students who remained in the nursing program were found to have significantly higher levelsof total emotional intelligence, interpersonal capacity, and stress tolerance. Students who dropped from thenursing program were not significantly different from successful staff nurses in terms of emotional intelligence.Conclusion: Emotional intelligence presents a compelling adjunct to current selection criteria for nursing stu-dents. However, the lack of research prevents widespread adoption of this criterion. This study suggests thatstudents with higher levels of emotional intelligence, particularly intrapersonal capacity and stress tolerance,are more likely to be successful in a baccalaureate nursing program than students with lower levels. Further re-search is needed to determine the usefulness of EI as a predictor of student success in nursing programs.
Grade point average (GPA) is widely used by academic organiza-tions for predicting student success. The cumulative GPA is an aver-age of grades obtained in coursework across all prior college anduniversity experiences. Even though GPA does not take into accountcourse rigor, relative content, outcomes, or consistency of applicationof grading, it has achieved an exulted status in the world of educationand is the harbinger of all good and bad in students as part of the‘permanent record.’
Excess demand, retention, and student success are significantchallenges for prelicensure nursing programs in the United States(U.S.). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2012) re-ports that over 75,000 qualified nursing students are denied admis-sion to nursing school every year. The primary reasons cited for thispent up demand are limitations in clinical sites and insufficient sup-ply of qualified nursing faculty. In addition to meeting the increasingdemand for nursing students, nursing programs are challenged to
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meet their evaluation criteria of student retention rates and firsttime pass rates on the national licensing exam, NCLEX-RN®. Theseoutcome indicators drive schools to establish admission criteria. His-torically, the use of cumulative GPA, completion of prerequisitecourses, and scores on entrance exams has been the focus of admis-sion criteria. However, emerging findings suggest that traditionalstrategies may not produce the expected results. Given the excessivesupply of qualified students and the looming nursing shortage, suc-cessful retention of students in nursing programs is a critical need.Therefore, effective predictive strategies for student selection mustbe a serious consideration for all nursing schools. The purpose ofthis research study was to examine the use of emotional intelligenceas a correlate to nursing student success in an effort to ultimately de-termine its usefulness as an admission criterion.
Review of Literature
Nursing School Admission Criteria in Practice
A variety of admission criteria are used in nursing schools acrossthe U.S. today (Schmidt and MacWilliams, 2011). Since schools areevaluated by state boards of nursing on the percentage of studentswho pass the NCLEX the first time, pressure is increasing to developadmission criteria and rubrics to ensure greater nursing school
retention, graduation and success on the licensing exam. Nursingschools are also concerned with increasing the diversity of nursingstudents and finding ways to evaluate nonacademic attributes consis-tent with success in nursing practice. In the late 1990s, NCLEX passrates began a dramatic decline and graduation rates for nursing pro-grams also began to slump below 85% (Sayles et al., 2003). This con-fluence of events created a focus and new research about admissionpractices and long standing admission criteria.
In a recent systematic review, Schmidt and MacWilliams (2011)analyzed fifty studies related to admission criteria for baccalaureatenursing programs. Seven distinct criteria were analyzed for efficacy:1) cumulative grade point average (CGPA), 2) nursing prerequisiteGPA, 3) achievement in individual science courses, 4) achievement inother courses, 5) preadmission standardized tests, 6) volunteerismand prior healthcare experience, and 7) admission and personal inter-views. The authors found that CGPA was the most widely used admis-sion criterion. However, they concluded that insufficient evidenceexists to use GPA as a stand-alone admission criterion.
In addition to CGPA, Schmidt and MacWilliams (2011) alsoreviewed use of nursing prerequisites GPA as an admission metric.They concluded that a lack of consistency in prerequisite requirementsprecludes generalizations about prerequisite GPA efficacy. A statisticallysignificant positive correlation between student success in pathophysi-ology and NCLEX success was found in one study, however, since path-ophysiology is not typically taken prior to admission, this finding didnot help inform admission decisions. Of the typical prerequisite sci-ences, Schmidt andMacWilliams found that microbiology and anatomyand physiology grades were strong predictors of program completionalongwith the number of times science courseswere repeated. Further-more, they found microbiology grades alone to be a strong predictor ofgraduation. Achievement in other non-science courses demonstratedno predictive value nor did prior healthcare experience. Finally, the au-thors concluded that standardized admission exams, used in combina-tion with other criteria, prove useful in determining admission tonursing school.
Wolkowitz and Kelley (2010) conducted an extensive analysis offour areas of academic measurement to determine if any were predic-tive of student success in nursing school and ultimately the licensingexam. In this study, the authors sought to determine the usefulness ofa standardized admission examination by comparing results of TheEssential Academic Skills (TEAS) exam, which measures knowledgein the four categories of science, English, math and reading, with anursing fundamentals exam evaluating performance in one of thefirst courses typically taken in a nursing program. The authors furtherexplored whether one or more of the four academic areas – science,English, math or reading – were more or less predictive of studentsuccess in nursing school. This study confirmed that higher scores inscience testing is a statistically significant predictor of success in nurs-ing school and of the four content areas, the most predictive of suc-cess in early progress in nursing programs.
Competency-based Education
The challenge of using CGPA as an admission criterion is furtherexacerbated in a competency-based university environment such asthe one in which the authors are employed. In a competency-baseduniversity, measurements of learning are not attached to time inclass (credit hours) or grades but rather mastery of competencies asmeasured by assessments. While these measurement tools confirmmastery and allow for student progression, they do not result in a tra-ditional grade. Assessments of competencies can be objective examswith cut scores set at the level of mastery (considered a “B” in a tra-ditional academic model) or by papers or projects which are gradedby a separate grading faculty using standardized rubrics.
For a university dedicated to serving adult students and focused oncompetency-based education, the use of CGPA as a measure of success
and as a criterion for admission presents a philosophical conflict. Thusthe challenge of predicting student success for the purposes of admis-sion into a competency-based prelicensure baccalaureate nursing pro-gram led to an investigation of admission criteria alternatives.
Emotional Intelligence: A Different Approach
The leadership literature is replete with references to emotional in-telligence (EI) and its associated attributes as predictive of success inproblem solving and decision-making aswell as in overall personal suc-cess (Smith et al., 2009; Bar-On and Handley, 1999; Goleman, 1995;Mayer et al., 2004; Rader, 2010). EI is defined as “an array of emotional,personal, and social abilities and skills that influence one's overall abilityto succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures”(Bar-On and Handley, 1999, p. 2). As with most instruments that mea-sure personal attributes, the EQi represents a snapshot in time of aperson's skills, abilities, and attributes (Bar-On and Handley, 1999).Some EI researchers believe the EI personal skills and attributes arefixed and not modifiable (Mayer et al., 2004) while others contend thatEI can bemodified and enhanced over time (Bar-On andHandley, 1999).
In his groundbreaking 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It CanMatter More than IQ, Daniel Goleman first posed using non-traditionalintelligencemeasures that focusmore on social intelligence to select in-dividuals for various roles and positions, hypothesizing that the bestsuccess indicators were being overlooked. Similarly, as a caring profes-sion, nursing has long recognized that successful nurses require certainaffective dispositions to be successful in practice. In 1999, Bellack calledfor an assessment of EI competencies alongwith technical and cognitivecompetencies in students. A few years later, Freshwater and Stickley,2004 asserted that nursing education focuses on the cognitive and psy-chomotor domains of learning without attention to the affective devel-opment of practitioners, thereby denying “the very heart of the art ofnursing practice” (p. 93). They recommended integration of EI as thevery core of nursing curricula Benson et al., 2010, in their study of EIin baccalaureate nursing students, acknowledge that EI is a prerequisitefor “competent nursing practice” (p. 53). Similarly, Hurley (2008) notedthat EI “relates directly to [the] very core of the therapeutic relationshipand to the well-being of nurses burdened with emotional and intellec-tual challenges that characterize the profession” (p. 384).
As a result of the recognition of the centrality of EI to nursing prac-tice, discussion of the use of EI as a selection tool for nursing programsemerged. For example, Cadman and Brewer (2001) posited that eval-uation of EI in nursing school candidates may be a predictor of bothclinical and academic successes. In addition, Hurley (2008) advocatedfor the use of EI as a student selection criterion. These discussions ul-timately led to research. A study by Zysberg et al. (2011) in Israelevaluated the correlation of EI with nursing student performance.They found significant correlations between EI and clinical practicegrades and interpersonal workshop grades, even when controllingfor cognitive measures such as CGPA and psychometric testing.
Given the lack of evidence supporting CGPA and other admissioncriteria as indicators of success in nursing programs, and the call foran admission criterion that considers the affective dimensions ofnursing, the authors embarked on a multistage study to develop anEI profile of successful staff nurses and to use that profile as a basisof comparison for nursing students. The authors posited thatestablishing an EI profile of successful staff nurses supported theidentification of EI characteristics for successful nursing practice.The successful staff nurse was operationally defined for this study asworking registered nurses, identified as a patient care expert by man-agement on his/her clinical unit. Most were prepared at the baccalau-reate level and had a minimum of two years clinical experience intheir patient care role. The results of the first stage of this researchare reported elsewhere (Harper and Jones-Schenk, 2012). The ulti-mate purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to deter-mine if student selection into a competency-based nursing program
may be enhanced by identification of EI traits that are associated withsuccessful nursing practice. For the student phase of the study, thefollowing research question was posed: Are nursing students,whose EI characteristics meet or exceed that of successful staff nurses,more likely to be successful in nursing school than students withlower levels of emotional intelligence?
Conceptual Model
The Bar-On (2004, 2007) Model of Emotional-Social Intelligencewas selected as the conceptual model to guide this study. In thismodel, EI includes the social and emotional abilities that influence cog-nitive performance as well as adaptation and coping on both profes-sional and personal levels. As a “mixed” model, Bar-On's frameworkconceptualizes EI as a combination of personality characteristics, emo-tional competencies, and temperament (Codier, 2010; Rader, 2010;Smith et al., 2009). This model was selected because of its emphasison social intelligence andunderlying assumption that EI is not static. As-sumingEI is not a staticmeasure implies that an individual's EI can growand be enhanced through life experience.
The Bar-On (2007)Model of Emotional-Social Intelligence subdividesEI into five meta-factors — intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress manage-ment, adaptability, and general mood. Each of these five meta-factors iscomposed of competencies and skills. These 15 sub-factors that makeup the primary components of EI are delineated in Table 1.
Method
A descriptive, correlational design was used to determine the EIprofile of nursing students entering a prelicensure baccalaureatenursing program and to determine the correlation of the EI attributesof successful students with that of successful staff nurses. This designis appropriate for understanding the emotional intelligence of nurs-ing students, a relatively new field of study.
Table 1Bar-On Model of Emotional Intelligence:meta-factors and subfactors.Adapted from Emotional Quotient InventoryTechnical Manual by R. Bar-On (2004).
• Empathy• Social responsibility• Interpersonal relationships
Stress management
• Stress tolerance• Impulse control
Adaptability
• Reality testing• Flexibility• Problem solving
General mood
• Optimism• Happiness
Participant Selection/Setting
A convenience sample of prelicensure BSN students in Texas andCalifornia enrolled in a multi-state, online, competency-based nurs-ing programwas used for this study. Students were informed that de-clining to participate in the study would not impact their status in thenursing program. Furthermore, students were informed their identifi-able results would only be released to one member of the researchteam (investigator), whose primary faculty role is administrative.Students were further informed that all data would be de-identifiedprior to sharing it with the project director and would only be sharedfor publication or presentation in aggregate form.
Instrument
The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) is a self-report instru-ment to measure EI; it contains 133 items that are scored on a fivepoint Likert-type scale (Bar-On, 2004). This assessment measures atotal emotional intelligence quotient (EQ-i) along with the five scalesand 15 subscales from the Bar-On Model of Emotional–Social Intelli-gence. It has been used in research worldwide with over 4000 partic-ipants over the past 20 years, consistently demonstrating acceptablereliability and construct, face, and content validity (Bar-On, 2004).Cronbach's alpha has ranged from 0.70 to 0.89 in use with NorthAmericans. Extensive factor analysis has supported the five scalesand fifteen subscales.
EQ-i was selected over other measurement tools because of itscongruency with the Bar-On conceptual model and its emphasis onmeasurement of social intelligence. The Bar-On tool is characterizedas a “mixed model” tool rather than a tool that focuses on mental ca-pability (Rader, 2010).
The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) was administered onlineto participants and scored by an online testing service. Studentnames, age and gender were obtained. Scoring of the instrument con-sists of converting raw scores to standard scores with a mean of 100and standard deviation of 15 (Bar-On, 2004). Using regression analy-sis, response bias correction factors are calculated and applied to theresults to promote accuracy. High and low levels of emotional intelli-gence are determined by their deviation from the mean score of 100.A score that is more than two standard deviations below the meanscore (below 70) is markedly low while a score more than two stan-dard deviations above the mean (over 130) is markedly high. The av-erage range for scores is 90–109.
Data Collection
Following approval by the university Institutional Review Board(IRB), all newly enrolled nursing students were asked to participate inthe study by taking the EQ-i assessment during the admission process.Upon receipt of an electronically signed consent, the Web link and ac-cess code for the online EI assessment was e-mailed to the participant.After completion of the assessment, individual participants weree-mailed with their personal results with an interpretation and offeredthe opportunity to have a one-hour telephone consultation with an EIexpert provided by the on-line EQ-i service. The consultation servicewas provided as an optional service for individuals who wished tolearn more about interpreting and using the EQi results. These sessionswere entirely confidential and not included in the study. Results of theactual EQi test were submitted by the on-line testing center to theinvestigator.
Student progress wasmonitored longitudinally throughout the pro-gram until graduation or departure from the program for other reasons.In addition, students were tracked after graduation for NCLEX pass andemployment in nursing.
Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sci-ences (SPSS), version 20. Descriptive statistics were calculated for de-mographic variables and mean total EQ, scale and subscale scores.One-way and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) withBonferroni post-hoc analysis tested differences between practicingnurses and potential nursing students.
Results
An analysis of student EQ-i characteristics is followed by a com-parison with those of successful nurses.
Sample
A convenience sample of 142 students from two states enrolling inan online prelicensure BSN program were invited to participate in thisstudy over a one year period. Electronically signed consents werereceived from 124 students. A total of 116 students completed theEQ-i assessment for a response rate of 82%.
Demographics
As indicated in Table 2, the 116 participants in this study were pre-dominantly female (80.2%, n = 93) ranging in age from 18 to 58 yearswith a mean age of 36.21 and 73.3% over the age of 30. Just overone-third (34.5%, n = 40) had graduated at the time of the currentdata analysis. Of the graduates, 58% (n = 23) have taken the NCLEXwith a 100% pass rate, 95.7% (n = 22) of whom passed on the firstattempt.
Because of the distinctive nature of the competency-based onlinenursing program in which the students are enrolled, students mayprogress through the program at varying rates depending on demon-stration of required competencies. The university establishes a standardpath for progression that delineates the expected time for course andprogram completion. However, students who require additional timeto demonstrate competency remain in the program but ultimatelytake longer to graduate. As a result of this unique format, participantprogression in the nursing programwas classified in this study as eitheron-time progress, modified progress, or dropped. Students whodropped (25.9%, n = 30) included participants who left the programvoluntarily as well as students who were academically dismissed fromthe program. Students with modified progress (31.9%, n = 37) com-prised those who remained enrolled in the program but had not beenable to maintain original program pacing requirements. On-time stu-dents (n = 42.2%, n = 49) maintained the established program
Progression in nursing programOn-time 42/4% (49)Modified 31/9% (37)Dropped 25.9% (30)
progression. Of participants who have graduated, 83% (n = 33) gradu-ated on time.
Research Question
The research question for the student phase of this study was: Arenursing students, whose EI characteristics meet or exceed that of suc-cessful staff nurses, more likely to be successful in nursing school thanstudentswith lower levels of emotional intelligence? An analysis of stu-dent EQ-i characteristics is followed by a comparison with that of suc-cessful nurses as reported earlier by Harper and Jones-Schenk (2012).
Student EQ-i Characteristics
Total EQ-i scores ranged from 78 to 135 with a mean of 108.92 for allparticipants which falls into the average range of 90–109. As demon-strated in Fig. 1, the majority of students had either average (38.8%,n = 45) or high (37.9%, n = 44) total EQ-i with 6.9% (n = 8) scoringbelow average. By comparison, students with modified progress scoredin the high range for overall EQ-i, with a mean of 111.65, while thedropped and on-time groups scored in the average range as demonstrat-ed in Fig. 2. Using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) no statisticallysignificant differences in total EQ-i, F (2115) = 1.960, p = 0.145, amongthe three groups were found.
While no significant differenceswere found in the total EQ among thethree groups of students, statistically significant differences were foundfor the five EQ scales. Fig. 3, which demonstrates the means for the fiveEQ scales by progression status, shows that studentswithmodified prog-ress scored in the high range (110–119) for the interpersonal, adaptabil-ity, and stress management scales. Similarly, on time students scored inthe high range for stress management while all scale scores for thedropped group were in the average range (90–109). Multivariate analy-sis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to evaluate relationshipsamong themeanswith a significance level of .01 using the Bonferroni ad-justment to account for the five variables. This analysis revealed a signif-icant difference in the Interpersonal scale, F (2, 115) = 5.294, p = .006.Post-hoc analysis indicated that the mean interpersonal score for thedropped group (M = 101.30, SD = 16.217) was significantly lowerthan that of the modified progress group (M = 111.14, SD = 6.713),F (2, 115) = 9.84, p = .005.
The EQ subscales were similarly analyzed using a significance levelof .003 to account for the 15 variables. No significant differences werefound.
Student–Nurse Comparison
An independent samples t test found that the total EQ-i of all stu-dents combined (M = 108.92, SD = 11.895) was significantly higherthan that of 42 successful staff nurses (M = 101.60. SD = 12.498),t(156) = 3.375, p = .001, as reported by Harper and Jones-Schenk(2012). When considering the progression status of students usingANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni analysis, both the modified progressgroup's total EQ-i (M = 111.14, SD = 6.713) and the on time group'stotal EQ-i (M = 108.69, SD = 12.343) were significantly higher thanthat of the nurse participants (M = 101.60. SD = 12.498), F(3,157) = 10.05, p = .002. A comparison of total EQ-i for each group ofparticipants is shown in Fig. 4.
Among the EQ scales, shown in Fig. 5, MANOVA analysis indicatedsignificant differences in Intrapersonal (F [3157] = 4.982, p = .003)and Stress Management (F[3157] = 5.842, p = .001) among studentprogression groups and successful nurses as reported by Harper andJones-Schenk (2012). Using an alpha level of .01, post hoc testing dem-onstrated the mean Intrapersonal scores of the modified progressgroup (M = 109.14, SD = 10.565), F(3, 157) = 9.97, p = .005, andthe on time group (M = 108.04, SD = 12.092)were significantly higherthan those of successful nurse participants (M = 99.17, SD = 15.332),
Fig. 1. Mean total Emotional Quotient (EQ) of students nurses.
F(3, 157) = 8.87, p = .008. In addition, Stress Management scores ofthemodified progress group (M = 112.68, SD = 11.329) were also sig-nificantly higher than those of the nurses (M = 102.10, SD = 14.255),F(3, 157) = 10.58, p = .003.
Using the same techniques and an alpha level of .003, analysis of EQsubscales, shown in Fig. 6, found significant differences in Stress Toler-ance, F(3, 157) = 6.430, p = .000. Post hoc analysis revealed thatmod-ified progress students' (M = 109.03, SD = 10.065) stress tolerancewas significantly higher than the nurse participants' (M = 99.02,SD = 14.646), F(3157) = 10.00, p = .002 aswas the on time students'(M = 108.29, SD = 11.621), F(3, 157) = 2.499, p = .002.
Discussion
This research study sought to determine if nursing students whose EIcharacteristics meet or exceed that of successful staff nurses are morelikely to be successful in nursing school than students with lower levelsof emotional intelligence. The findings of this investigation suggest thatthe EI characteristics of successful students exceed that of practicingnurses. While the average EQ-i of all students in this study was signifi-cantly higher than that of the nurse participants, when progression inthe nursing programwas considered, studentswho remained in the pro-gram, both on time and with modified progression, had significantlyhigher total EQ-i than successful nurses while students who droppedwere not significantly different from the nurses. In addition, students
Fig. 2. Total Emotional Quotient score based on nursing program progression.
who remained in the program scored significantly higher on the Intra-personal scale and the Stress Tolerance subscale. No significant differ-ences in EQ scales or subscales were found between the droppedstudents and the nurse participants.
The finding of higher EI in students than in successful nurses is sur-prising. Intuitively, one would think that students most like practicingnurses would be more likely to be successful in the nursing program.However, these findings suggest that students most like practicingnurses are more likely to drop from the nursing program while higherlevels of EI are needed for success. Students in this study may not becharacteristic of all nursing students as evidenced by their enrollmentin an innovative competency-based, online prelicensure nursing pro-gram. Success in such a high-tech environment may require high levelsof emotional intelligence. As the successful students in this study grad-uate and enter the nursing profession, their higher levels of EI may beneeded in the clinical environment to deal with the additional stressorsof technology, accountable care initiatives, and the continually evolvinghealth care environment.
Harper and Jones-Schenk (2012) found that older nurses tended tohave significantly lower levels of empathy unrelated to their longevityin the profession resulting in a call for research on factors influencingempathy development and its evolution over time. The investigatorsposited that potential causes of the negative correlation betweenempathy and age in nurses may include stress, cynicism and burnout.Freshwater and Stickley (2004) suggested that the increased focus ontechnology may result in a concomitant loss of empathy and compas-sion. While all these potential causes of lower empathy in older nurseswarrant investigation, the higher levels of empathy among nursing stu-dents are encouraging, particularly in a technology-based prelicensureprogram.
While students with on-time progression in the nursing programhad the highest overall level of EI, students on modified progressiondemonstrated the highest levels in all EI scales and scored in the highrange (110–119) for the interpersonal, adaptability, and stressmanage-ment scales. This serendipitous finding may suggest that students whomust exert themselves to achieve academic goals have developed highlevels of emotional intelligence. Onemaypostulate that the need for dil-igent efforts to succeed may help these individuals develop interper-sonal, adaptability, and stress management skills or conversely thatthe presence of these EI strengths allows them to be successful inspite of challenges and delays.
In the Bar-On Model (Bar-On and Handley, 1999), the Intra-personal scale refers to the inner self and includes the subscales of
self-actualization, independence, assertiveness, emotional self-awareness, and self-regard. Individualswhohavewell-developed intra-personal emotional intelligence generally feel positive about them-selves and their life's direction. They tend to know themselves and tobe independent. Not only are they aware of their personal feelings,but also they are adept at expressing them. In addition, they are confi-dent with their ability to convey personal ideas and beliefs. Theirwell-developed self-actualization or ability to fulfill their potential ischaracterized by dedication to meeting established goals and determi-nation to do their best. In the current study, these attributes seem tobe characteristic of students who remain in the program.
Another strength of students in this study was stress tolerance. TheStress Tolerance subscale is a component of the Stress Management EQscale (Bar-On and Handley, 1999). Stress tolerance is the capacity topositively cope with difficult or strongly emotional situations withoutsuccumbing to feelings of helplessness or hopelessness. Individualswith well-developed stress tolerance tend to embrace change and be-lieve in their personal problem-solving abilities. They have a variety ofappropriate coping mechanisms from which to choose. Given the
Fig. 4. Comparison of student total EQ-i by p
stressful nature of nursing school, these characteristics would certainlypromote student success.
Limitations
As previously stated, participants in this study were enrolled in aninnovative, online, multistate prelicensure baccalaureate nursing pro-gram. Students who opt to attend such a program may be significantlydifferent from students who attend traditional face-to-face programs.For example, the United States national average of baccalaureate nurs-ing students over the age of 30 is 14% (Kaufman, 2012) as comparedto 73.3% in this study. In addition, 19.8% of the participants in thisstudy were male compared to a national average of 15%. Therefore,the findings of this study may not be generalizeable to all baccalaureatenursing students.
Longitudinal data collection continues in this study as student partic-ipants progress through the nursing program and enter the profession.Further research is needed with diverse nursing student populations todetermine EI's usefulness as a selection criterion. Comparisons of EI
with GPA and entrance examinations as predictors of student success arewarranted.
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence presents a compelling adjunct to current se-lection criteria for nursing students. However, the lack of research pre-vents widespread adoption of this criterion. This study suggests thatstudents with higher levels of emotional intelligence, particularly intra-personal capacity and stress tolerance, are more likely to be successfulin a baccalaureate nursing program than students with lower levels. Fur-ther research is needed to determine the usefulness of EI as a predictor ofstudent success in nursing programs, however clearly EI attributes athigher than average levels were associated in this study with successful
Fig. 6. Comparison of student EQ-i subscale by
completion of the nursing program. The authors continue to followthese students post graduation to compare their NCLEX success and re-tention within the practice of nursing with that of traditional nursingstudents. Additional funding is being sought to extend the studentstudy to include a larger sample from additional geographic locations.
Acknowledgments
This emotional intelligence study was part of the development ofthe Multistate Approach to Preparing Registered Nurses (MAP RN),a private-public development project for prelicensure nursing educa-tion. The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the CaliforniaLabor Agency and Texas Workforce Commission funding for the sup-port of this work.
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