[EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE EQ--A NECESSARY SKILL FOR SUCCESS OF MEDICAL STAFF IN THE 21ST CENTURY].

During the last decade, medical organizations have undergone major changes worldwide and these continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Today the medical profession faces many new challenges that will eventually have an impact on almost every aspect of daily hospital routine. To a large extent, these issues arise from emerging new technologies, the entry of a new generation of trained workers who have different views and characteristics than previous generations, and the introduction of stricter regulations and accreditation procedures in recent years. In addition, the various hospital staff members now have different professional expectations and demands; there is also an important need to reduce costs, accompanied by a shift towards the concept of patients perceiving themselves as clients rather than only as people needing medical assistance. Facing all these challenges, undoubtedly, medical teams will need to acquire a more comprehensive set of professional skills critical for their continued success in the 21st century. These skills will have to include the ability to be more flexible, so as to be able to adapt to changing environments, to remain effective at work under stress, to develop positive personal interactive working relationships, while providing excellent service to patients, and to maintain the ability to guide and lead others in a changing medical environment. People with the above skills reflect the positive attributes of high emotional intelligence. Recent studies show that emotional intelligence plays an important role in the success of the entire medical staff and particularly for those in management roles. Hospitals will have to take into consideration all the necessary characteristics, if they wish to maintain and further consolidate their previous achievements in the 21st century. In particular, they will need to pay attention to the EQ of both new and existing staff, using it as a meaningful parameter for new recruits and for the further development of their existing medical staff. Two years ago, the Bnai-Zion Medical Center in Haifa, Israel made an important strategic decision to prepare itself to cope more successfully with the future challenges posed by the 21st century, by adopting the "language" of emotional intelligence within the different departments. This program, unique in Israel, was designed as a comprehensive in-house process for the entire hospital at all levels. It was designed as an evolving multi-stage development program with additional wards joining in at every stage, with a special design. A summary of the key points necessary for understanding the design of EQ in Bnai-Zion Medical center is described in this review. Disclosure: Ayalla Reuven-Lelong and Niva Dolev are the owners of EQ-EL--the emotional intelligence center in Israel.