Evaluation of Emotional Intelligence and Its Relation to the Academic Achievement in Medical Students

Background: achievement in university education may be related to one’s emotional intelligent (ei) as well as his/her social skills and emotional control. therefore, it is also probable that the ei be associated with academic and occupational achievement in medical students. objectives: the aim of this study was evaluation of the relation between ei and academic achievement of students working in the medical field. materials and methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students of baqiyatallah university of medical sciences between 2010 and 2011 who had completed at least two academic semesters. valid bar-on inventory and average academic scores were used for evaluating ei and academic achievement, respectively. pearson test was performed to analyze the data. results: one hundred-fifty medical students were enrolled (mean age 23.17 ± 2.17 years and all were male). the mean of ei score were 303.14 ± 39.32 and 340.11 ± 35.00 in undergraduate and graduated medical students, respectively. there was a significant correlation between ei score and academic achievement (p = 0.001, correlation coefficient: 0.305). problem solving ability, stress tolerance and self-awareness from all fields showed significant relation with academic achievement (p < 0.05). conclusions: according to the results, ei -especially in problem solving ability, stress tolerance and self-awareness fields- was related to the academic achievement. therefore, enhancing such abilities may improve the academic and occupational achievement of the medical students.