2019 HSC Section 2 - Practice Management

McKinley & Phitayakorn

Fig. 1. Screen shot sample of SimuLearn’s EI simulation product from online promotional video. ( From SimuLearn Inc. Available at: http://www.simulearn.net/ ; with permission.)

with customers and teamwork skills, both of which require identification and manage- ment of one’s own and other’s emotions. At least 2 companies have created games aimed at increasing EI. Planet Jockey has published a computer game in which players must act as chief executive officer in response to scenarios provided by executives at Fortune 500 companies. 53 Players are provided with mentorship throughout the different levels, which is specifically tar- geted toward EI and leadership development. The If You Can Company published a game entitled If You Can that is marketed as a game that develops the EI of children as the foundation to academic and life achievement. 54 Players navigate a planet in which there is a long-standing conflict between cats and dogs, and they must make emotionally wise decisions to reunify the 2 warring populations. Given the prominence that EI has had in academic and lay news, it would be not be surprising if more private entities developed EI development games and simulations aimed toward different markets ranging from elementary school to the corporate level. The existence of such products demonstrates a belief that such simulations are feasible and effective, or that in the least, there exists a demand for tools that use simulation to cultivate EI. Designing Effective Simulation for Emotional Intelligence Development Given the limited number of hours available for training, it is crucial to design simula- tion for EI development that is as effective and efficient as possible. Several published studies provide guidance on characteristics of educational interventions that are either effective or ineffective. Perhaps the most critical aspect of future EI simulations is that they be mandatory activities for residents that occur during protected educational time. In one study of family medicine residents, investigators designed an EI interven- tion that consisted of one-on-one EI coaching by a certified individual. 26 No resident completed the intervention arm of the study, and the investigators attributed this to the fact that these coaching sessions did not occur during protected time and that the res- idents had too many competing clinical and academic responsibilities to prioritize participating in the intervention regardless of how useful it might have been. In another

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