Helen Wilkin

Supervisor: Prof Jo Silvester

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence in Healthcare Roles
The concepts of empathy and emotional intelligence within the psychology literature have clear parallels in terms of content and method of investigation. There is disagreement regarding definitions of each. Within Occupational Psychology, these concepts are important for relationship building with clients, particularly in the healthcare sector. This PhD investigates empathy and emotional intelligence within a range of healthcare roles including doctors and nurses. Qualitative methods have elicited definitions and behavioural indicators of empathy. Findings have been used to quantitatively investigate the comparative relevance of empathy and emotional intelligence, with the aim of a greater understanding of individual differences.