Nurse-Physician Relations and Emotional Intelligence: What a 3,359-Nurse Sabah Survey Shows

On October 9, 2026, Scienmag published a report, carried on bioengineer.org, on a BMC Nursing study of how features of the nursing work environment relate to emotional intelligence among registered nurses in Sabah, Malaysia ^[1]. The team, led by Norkiah Arsat of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, distributed 4,000 questionnaires in public hospitals and health clinics and analyzed 3,359 responses after data screening ^[1]. The central finding was that collegial nurse-physician relations were positively associated with every emotional intelligence outcome the researchers tested ^[1].

What the study measured

The story defines emotional intelligence as the capacity to recognize, understand and regulate emotions, both one's own and those of patients and colleagues ^[1]. It was measured with the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form, which covers facets including emotional skills, social skills, self-control and well-being ^[1]. The work environment was measured with the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, which divides the workplace into five dimensions ^[1].

The analysis used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), a method that estimates paths between latent constructs, meaning variables inferred from several survey items rather than measured directly ^[1]. The team also assessed reliability and validity, screened for common method variance, which is distortion that can arise when all data come from one self-report instrument, and examined variance inflation factors for multicollinearity among the five workplace dimensions ^[1].

The findings

• Collegial nurse-physician relations were positively associated with emotional skills, social skills and global emotional intelligence, an association the authors describe as modest but consistent ^[1].
• Nursing foundations for quality care were associated with stronger social skills and higher global emotional intelligence ^[1].
• Nurse participation in hospital affairs was associated with stronger social skills and higher global emotional intelligence ^[1].
• Nurse manager ability, leadership and support were associated with stronger emotional skills and higher global emotional intelligence ^[1].
• Staffing and resource adequacy showed negative associations with every emotional intelligence dimension, which supplementary analyses suggested may reflect a statistical suppression effect, in which a third correlated variable masks or reverses a relationship ^[1].

The authors ask readers to treat the staffing result with caution rather than read it as evidence that better-staffed workplaces produce less emotionally intelligent nurses ^[1].

Why it matters for practice leaders

The story ties nurse emotional intelligence to communication quality, professional functioning and psychological well-being, and through these to patient safety and staff retention ^[1]. The factors with positive associations are largely relational and organizational: how nurses and physicians collaborate, whether nurses have a voice in decisions, the quality orientation of the workplace, and the backing supervisors provide ^[1]. The story presents responses such as interdisciplinary teamwork training, formal channels for nurse input and manager leadership development as possible levers, not as interventions the study tested ^[1]. It also suggests that adding resources without attention to relational culture may not deliver the emotional benefits health systems seek ^[1].

Setting limits how far the results travel. The sample came from public hospitals and clinics in one Malaysian state, a system the story describes as operating under different hierarchies, staffing models and professional norms from Western settings, where most earlier evidence originated ^[1].

What to watch next

The authors call for longitudinal and post-pandemic studies to clarify the practical significance and stability of these associations, noting how COVID-19 reshaped nursing workloads and morale ^[1]. Such work would be needed to show which workplace factors actually change emotional competencies over time ^[1].

Limitations

The design is cross-sectional, capturing a single moment, so in the story's words "the direction of causality remains unknown" ^[1]. Nurses with higher emotional intelligence may perceive their workplaces more favorably, instead of or in addition to favorable workplaces fostering emotional intelligence ^[1]. The associations were generally modest, and the coverage does not report effect sizes, so their magnitude cannot be judged from this summary ^[1]. This brief relies on the Scienmag report rather than the full paper (DOI 10.1186/s12912-026-05316-1), and the study was funded by Universiti Malaysia Sabah's New Lecturer Grant ^[1].