BMH Medical Journal

Keywords: Soft skills, communication skills, intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, leadership, career success, success in life

Introduction

In this digital world, people face a multitude of personal, social and job-related challenges. These stressful situations can increase the risk of developing lifestyle disorders and psychopathological symptoms. Soft skills will help individuals to overcome these challenges easily. Soft skills include the intrapersonal skills and interpersonal skills that help to build positive relationship with people and facilitate the application of technical skills and professional knowledge in the best way. Hard skills and soft skills are necessary for success in career and life. Hard skills deal with technical proficiency. Soft skills relate to personal values that determine a person's ability to adjust and work in a particular situation. To make the hard skills applicable, people need soft skills. Soft skills will help an individual to make the work efficient and more productive. Soft skills predict success in life [1].

Intrapersonal Skills

Important intrapersonal skills are intrinsic motivation, critical thinking, resilience, perseverance, self-confidence and self-awareness. Individuals with high intrapersonal intelligence are self-smart. They will set priorities and goals and they know how to achieve a positive outcome even during stressful situations. They stay flexible, trustworthy and find out creative solutions for problems in career and life.

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are the soft skills which determine how well a person interact with others. Important interpersonal skills include adaptability, empathy, active listening, responsibility for the actions, dependability, social skills and collaboration. Individuals with high interpersonal intelligence will be assertive and they have good communication skills.

Communication Skills

Communication is an integral part of every interpersonal meeting and there are several benefits of effective communication [2]. Communication skills include negotiation, conflict resolution and persuasion skills [3] Communication skills help to improve interpersonal relationships and will boost the work performance. Good communicators will be able to adjust their tone of speech according to audience and explain complex issues efficiently. Active listening is very important in communication. Active listening skill will help an individual to learn and respond correctly in difficult circumstances. Maintaining eye contact and nodding, are important parts of active listening. Along with active listening, writing skills, verbal skills and non-verbal skills are also important for good communication. Verbal skills are key to fostering relationships. During negotiations, verbally talented individuals know what to say and how to say. Non-verbal skills include posture, hand gestures, facial expression and voice tone.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is important for happiness and success in life. It is the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, as well as the capacity for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions in ourselves and in our relationships. Emotional intelligence encompasses self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

Emotions are crucial determinants of how an individual functions in everyday life [4]. Individuals high in emotional intelligence, can perceive emotions and also regulate emotions in order to achieve adaptive outcomes [5]. People with high emotional intelligence will be able to control the negative emotions of anger, low self-esteem and anxiety and replace them with positive emotions such as confidence and empathy [6]. Emotionally intelligent people will be able to manage their emotions so that they are expressed appropriately. This will enable people to work together smoothly and achieve their common goals.

Leadership

Leadership is the ability to guide an organization in order to achieve a stated goal. Emotional intelligence has been identified as an important aspect of leadership [7]. Leadership is an important skill for career success. Those with strong leadership skills will have the ability to inspire others and lead the teams in the best way. Good leadership skills include positive attitude, flexibility, responsibility, time management, decision making skill, effective communication and problem-solving skill. Training in soft skills lead to effective leadership [8].

Soft Skills in Medical Profession

To become successful in medical profession, academic education, clinical practice experience and soft skills are essential. Verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as empathy are very important in patient-doctor interactions. Emotional intelligence coaching for doctors is needed for efficient patient-doctor relationship [9]. Soft skills training in healthcare organizations is becoming increasingly necessary [10].

In the work of a physician, along with knowledge and professional skills, soft skills are very important [11]. The ability to communicate well with patients is an important skill essential for physicians. Teaching effective communication skills in the clinical setting will make a significant difference in the lives of clinicians and also in the lives of their patients [12]. Conflict management and empathic interaction are important in professions related to health care [13].

Empathetic communication is about listening with full attention to understand another person's feelings. Empathetic communication is essential for physicians to achieve better patient satisfaction and improved health outcomes [14]. Emotional intelligence is an ability that can be learned and it can be used to address the aspects of the doctor-patient relationship that are not working effectively. Hence teaching emotional intelligence should be given priority in medical education [15].

How to Develop Soft Skills

Soft skills cannot be learned as passing an exam, but these skills can certainly be developed over time. It requires quite a lot of introspection. First identify the true strengths and weaknesses. Observe and learn from the people having soft skills. All soft skills will improve with practice. Soft skills training will give the confidence to apply these skills into the workplace and life. By acquiring soft skills, a person becomes trustworthy, empathetic and highly regarded by others.

Conclusion

Soft skills refer to the cluster of personality traits and values which are very important for success in personal and professional life. Soft skills are highly important for professionals in health care for better relationship with patients. Therapeutic touch and the listening ear of clinicians have significant role in patient care. Understanding soft skills and their relevance for healthcare practitioners has become an important area of consideration in the digital world. High emotional intelligence lead to greater happiness of individuals. Emotionally intelligent leadership is necessary to provide high quality and compassionate care in medical field. By acquiring soft skills, emotions can be managed in the best way for optimal functioning and success in career and life.

References

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Soft Skills - Essential for Success