Abstract
Introduction. The purpose of this research study was to examine the emotional intelligence (EI) of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Masters of Occupational Therapy (MOT) students and to compare their scores to normative data of the general population. Methods. The students were given a validated test called the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test on-line. After completion of the testing sessions, the data was compared between subject groups and to the normative scores. Data Analysis. The researcher examined the scores by using descriptive statistics of the data in order to determine if the scores were similar to those found by the previous study of practicing physical therapists as well as to compare the scores to the general population. A t-Test was also used to determine if there was a statistical significance between the DPT and MOT groups. Results. When compared to the normative 18-24 year-old scores, the DPT and MOT cohorts of the 18-24 year old age range scored higher in total EIQ as well as all branch scores than the normative values, but the older participants scored near the normative mean in total EIQ and on branch scores. The male participant mean for both the DPT and MOT groups was higher in total EIQ compared to males of all age groups in the general mean, whereas the female mean was lower than the female normative mean. Descriptive statistics reveal that female participants scored higher in total EIQ than the male participants. There was no statistically significant difference between the total EIQ scores of DPT and MOT program students at FGCU. Conclusion. First year DPT and MOT program students had higher MSCEIT score than their age-matched peers. There are several hypotheses for why the participants scored higher on the MSCEIT than the age-matched general population in the context of their chosen career paths. In the rehabilitation science profession, it is important to be able to encourage patients to leave their comfort zone in order to overcome limitations. While it is vital to have empathy and understand a patient from an emotional standpoint, the key construct of rehabilitation medicine requires an individual who is able to control their emotions and the emotional output of patients in order to be able to successfully push the patient to achieve their goals without sacrificing patient satisfaction and quality of care. Future research in needed to determine if EI is an attribute that is innate to those who seek a career in health professions, and to determine if EI testing may have a role in selecting students for Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy programs.