The relationship between self-compassion, emotional intelligence and perception of care in surgical nurses

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between nurses' levels of selfcompassion and emotional intelligence and their perceptions of care behaviors in surgical clinics and units. The sample for this descriptive and correlational study consisted of 209 nurses working in surgical clinics and units. Data collection involved the use of the "Nurse Demographic Characteristics Form," the "Revised Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS)," the "Self-Awareness Scale (SAS)," and the "Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 (CBI-24)." Data collected through faceto-face interviews were evaluated using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-test, Pearson correlation analysis to determine the effect of the scales on each other, multiple linear regression, and stepwise regression analysis to determine the effects of significant variables. The average age of surgical nurses was 34.00±7.840 years, 83.7% were female, and 78% were working as bachelor's degree graduates. The mean total scores of nurses on the SAS, EIS, and CBI-24 scales were 33.33±14.60, 154.33±16.512, and 5.25±0.553, respectively. It was determined that the way nurses work, their work style, and their satisfaction with their work life and the surgical clinic/unit they work in are effective defining factors on their perceptions of care behavior. It was determined that the subdimensions of trust, commitment, and respect in surgical nurses were positively related to the total care behavior scores, while the subdimensions of self-compassion, awareness, and awareness of sharing were positively related to the total care behavior scores; self-judgment and excessive identification were negatively related. A positive relationship was also found between nurses' emotional intelligence mean scores and their perceptions of care behavior (p<0.05). It was determined that emotional intelligence, which enables the assessment of self-compassion and emotions that are aware of the sharing in the perceptions of care behaviors provided by surgical nurses within a framework of security, respect, and commitment, is among the positive predictors. It was determined that awareness of sharing among nurses, along with increased consciousness and emotional use standard deviation, led to a positive increase in perceptions of care behavior in terms of knowledge and skill (p<0.05). In conclusion, it was determined that self-compassion and sub-dimensions of emotional intelligence may be effective factors in the descriptive characteristics of surgical nurses' perceptions of care behaviors. In line with these results, it is recommended that initiatives targeting internal resources such as self-compassion and emotional intelligence in nurses be planned to improve care behaviors, and that studies be planned in different cultures and samples.