Work context, via acute stress and cognitive load, is a major moderator of emotional competence's impact on clinical reasoning¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The review hypothesises the link between EC and CR is moderated by acute stress level: the higher the acute stress, the greater the effect of EC on CR, likely by helping individuals manage cognitive load. → Joly Louise 2026 q2 i? Poor stress regulation was inversely correlated with students' ability to learn new skills, establish differential diagnoses and determine treatment in emergencies, especially with limited clinical experience. → Joly Louise 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Joly Louise 2026¶

Joly Louise, Nunes de Sousa Alexandra, Bardiau Marjorie, Dory Valérie, Bayot Marie, Lenoir Anne-Laure. (2026). Impact of emotional competence on clinical reasoning: a scoping review. BMJ Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-113483

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review's own interpretive hypothesis from its moderator synthesis (Section 2), stated as congruent with the cognitive-load literature; it is an authors' interpretation, not a tested result, and no effect size is printed.

"The first hypothesis supports the fact that the link between EC and CR is moderated by the level of acute stress. The higher the level of acute stress, the greater the effect of EC on CR, likely by helping individuals to manage their cognitive load."

Joly Louise 2026 (2)¶

Joly Louise, Nunes de Sousa Alexandra, Bardiau Marjorie, Dory Valérie, Bayot Marie, Lenoir Anne-Laure. (2026). Impact of emotional competence on clinical reasoning: a scoping review. BMJ Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-113483

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative synthesis of the review's CR-development studies; the review reports an inverse correlation in students facing emergency situations, with clinical exposure a stronger predictor of performance than EC scores.

"Poor stress regulation abilities have been inversely correlated with the ability to learn new skills, establish a differential diagnosis and determine treatment in students facing emergency situations—especially when their clinical experience is limited."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Emotional Intelligence — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Evidence for emotional competence improving clinical performance outside emergency and surgical contexts remains inconsistent, and empathy does not predict technical examination quality — related
• Emotional competence enhances diagnostic and therapeutic clinical reasoning most clearly in life-threatening emergency situations — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Emotional regulation, especially tolerance of uncertainty, supports physicians' management of clinical uncertainty — related
• Single-study affective outcomes show mixed results: contrasting communication competency findings, greater emotional intelligence and stress reduction gains, and no significant cognitive load increase — related
• Negative emotions, most commonly stress, were inversely correlated with clinical performance in some simulated or educational acute care settings — related