Nursing Concept Analysis Paper

Application of Concept Analysis to Practice

Nursing has many terms that are used but the definitions are rarely understood or have ambiguous meanings. For the purpose of this paper we will take a deeper look at one specific concept, emotional intelligence, and examine a peer reviewed article that utilizes the Walker and Avant method to deconstruct the meaning. Lastly, this paper will show how emotional intelligence is can be applied in practice.

Concept for Analysis

The nurse-patient interaction is the keystone to providing quality care. It is in this interaction that one must evaluate how one’s own emotions, and those of their client, play a role in the care that is provided. For the purposes of this paper, I chose an article published

The first step in this method is to select a concept, which in this case is ‘emotional intelligence’. Next they must determine the aims, or purpose, of the analysis. The article proposes that they use concept analysis to determine defining attributes of emotional intelligence for application in nursing (Yekta & Abdolrahimi, 2015). The third step in this method is the identification of all uses of this concept through review of past research. Yekta and Abdolrahimi used considerations from 43 studies to provide a concept analysis. Next, the authors were to determine defining attributes of emotional intelligence. They concluded there were 2 defining attributes: “1. Emotional intelligence as the individual trait: individual perceptions are related to a person’s emotions 2. Emotional intelligence as the ability: the ability to understand, express and control emotions of own-self and others” (Yekta & Abdolrahimi, 2015, pg.

These interactions are a complex process that involves the nurse’s perceptions, an understanding of the patient’s emotions and utilization of these perceptions to manage patient situations towards the goal of effective patient care (ASRN, 2007). Emotional intelligence is used on a daily basis in a multitude of situations. Working in an ambulatory care setting, nurses are faced with personal and telephonic encounters with patients. By evaluating one’s emotional intelligence and applying the principles outlined in the article the nurse can adapt her conversation with each patient in relation to the individual situations the patient is experiencing, as well as the encounter in which it occurs. For example, the approach in discussing a post-surgical plan of care may be very different in an in-person encounter versus over the telephone. The nurse may be able to utilize visual aids such as handouts that provide options for post-surgical recovery (lists of local skilled nursing facilities or home health agencies to review). In a telephonic encounter this would not be applicable and the nurse must assess the patient’s ability to understand the complex plan of care being outlined. Some patient’s may not be able to process various options over the phone and handouts/information could be mailed or emailed, again depending on the patient’s ability to utilize systems