The Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program hosted its annual Lectureship event for in-person and virtual attendees on February 25. This year’s guest speaker, founder of the New Nurse Academy LLC, Tiffany Gibson, discussed how the art of emotional intelligence can foster inclusivity and wellbeing in nursing environments.
“The goal [of this event] … is “to enrich the academic and professional development of our students, faculty, and the broader Simmons community,” said Delmy Piano, assistant director of the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program and assistant professor of practice in Simmons’ School of Nursing (SON) when introducing the program’s annual Lectureship event on February 25. Beyond a mere lecture, the lectureship “is a platform to inspire mentorship, promote leadership, and bridge theory with real-world practice,” Piano continued.
Introducing the guest speaker, accomplished nurse and businesswoman Tiffany Gibson, Piano said, “[Gibson] helps [nurses] grow professionally while maintaining mental and emotional well-being.”
Gibson’s many professional accomplishments include serving as regional nurse manager for the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania and as adjunct faculty member at the Roxborough School of Nursing. She has received recognition in Ebony online magazine (2022) and Oprah Daily (2021).
Gibson, who founded the New Nurse Academy, LLC in 2015, delivered a presentation entitled “The Art of Emotional Intelligence for Nurses: Building Culturally Humble and Inclusive Nursing Environments.” Her lecture defined and identified the key components of emotional intelligence; analyzed how it operates in communication, teamwork, and crisis management; and provided real-world examples of its application in the nursing profession.
Defining Emotional Intelligence
Gibson began her lecture by providing a brief historical overview of the term “emotional intelligence.” When this term appeared in the literature in the early 1930s, it was called “social intelligence,” and denoted the act of getting along with others. A breakthrough occurred in 1995 with the publication of Dr. Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (Bantam).
Drawing upon Goleman’s insights, Gibson distinguished the emotional quotient (EQ) from the intelligence quotient (IQ). Whereas IQ is cognitive and academic, EQ transcends logical reasoning. Emotional intelligence, Gibson said, “is the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions.” Put differently, emotional intelligence “is to be able to name what you are feeling.”
Gibson addressed the four key components of emotional intelligence:
- self-awareness (an understanding of one’s thoughts and feelings)
- self-regulation (managing these thoughts and feelings)
- social awareness (one’s ability to read the room and pick up on other people’s energy)
- relationship management (teamwork, conflict resolution, and empathy)
“With emotional intelligence, you’ll have the empathy to be around people and to help them manage whatever they’re going through,” Gibson said.
Emotional Intelligence in Nursing
Addressing the nursing profession, Gibson said, “Nursing is not a solo sport … What we do every day is about other people — either educating them, caring for them, or treating them. At the least, we’re communicating with them.” As a nurse, emotional intelligence can help one navigate interpersonal relationships, tolerate stress, and manage impulse control.
Within the stressful and fast-paced environment of nursing, cultivating emotional intelligence can help nurses feel in control while signifying to others that you are a responsible and empathetic leader. By taking the time to respond to and process one’s emotions, emotional intelligence also prevents burnout.
To clarify, Gibson emphasized that “emotional intelligence is not about … not having emotions. It’s just being smart about them. Emotional intelligence is strategic … It allows you to observe. It allows you to communicate clearly, which fosters trust and retention. It increases psychological safety, where people feel safe coming to talk to you, or you feel safe talking to other people. And it builds stronger and more empathetic teams.”
Drawing from her experience as a nurse, Gibson provided real-world examples to demonstrate how emotional intelligence can help nurses provide care in emotionally charged or culturally fraught situations. For example, if a patient uses profanities or racial slurs, emotional intelligence enables nurses to reinforce boundaries and protect their own well-being.
Belonging and Cultural Humility
For Gibson, emotional intelligence is essential for fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in the workplace.
“Emotional intelligence creates internal conditions that make inclusion possible because we are seeing things through other people’s lenses,” she said. In this way, “you can build empathy with the differences” and “create space for them.”
Moreover, Gibson differentiated between cultural competence and cultural humility. While competence is merely knowing something, humility involves curiosity and wanting to learn more. As she explained, “I want to understand what this means for you and not just have an awareness of it … Humility allows for lifelong learning and partnership.”
Gibson drew from psychologist Abraham Maslow’s research on the Indigenous Blackfoot Nation in Canada from the early 1950s. Here, Maslow found that self-actualization is continually informed by the community, which differs from the Western model of staunch individualism.
“We are only as strong as the people around us,” Gibson noted. Maslow’s observations, she suggested, are relevant to the nursing profession; ideally, nurses should work collaboratively and help others survive and thrive.
To cultivate emotional intelligence and inclusion, Gibson recommends daily practices of self-reflection and initiating conversations. Her lecture concluded by compelling audience members to reflect on how their own culture influences their perceptions of health and envision how they can practice cultural humility.
“Make inclusion an emotional practice, not just a policy,” she said.