Effects of critical care nurses’ emotional intelligence on patient safety at King Fahad Hospital in Jazan province

Objective: Emotional intelligence plays an essential role in working nurses towards communication, decision-making on critical issues in high-stress environments, and collaborating with colleagues. Higher emotional intelligence nurses provide safe and high-quality care towards patient safety. This study was designed to be implemented on the premises of Jazan at King Fahad Hospital to examine the emotional intelligence in working nurses and how they deal with the patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 132 individuals were recruited among working nurses based on the recommended sample size formula. Data were collected using the self-administered questionnaire from all the participated individuals after signing the consent form. This study was carried out between August 2024 and September 2024. Three scales, such as demographic data, the emotional intelligence questionnaire, and Patient Safety Scales, were used to measure the study variables with the help of a five-point Likert scale. Emotional intelligence levels were categorized as low, moderate, and high, while patient safety was assessed through adherence to safety practices. Results: The results of this study confirmed that emotional intelligence has a high mean value of 3.91 ± 0.57, and the Patient Safety Scale also showed 3.73 ± 0.48 levels. Correlation analysis confirmed the positive association between emotional intelligence and Patient Safety Scale ( r = 0.68; p < 0.001). Bivariate analysis also showed the significant association between emotional intelligence and Patient Safety Scale in different variables studied ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study validates that emotional intelligence is a significant determinant of patient safety among critical care nurses in Jazan. Nurses with high emotional intelligence are superior at handling stress, clear communication, and sounding clear in making clinical decisions, all of which contribute to safer patient care in high-stress environments. Health care organizations should focus on developing emotional intelligence through structured training programs, incorporate emotional competencies into nursing education, and tackle organizational obstacles that prevent the implementation of individual emotional skills to enhance system-level safety, as these measures can lead to improved patient outcomes and a more resilient healthcare workforce. These efforts aligned with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to enhance the improvement of the quality of healthcare and patient safety in the Kingdom.