evaluation of emotional intelligence and its relation to the academic achievement in medical students

background achievement in university education may be related to one’s emotional intelligent (ei) as well as his/her social skills and emotional control. therefore, it is also probable that the ei be associated with academic and occupational achievement in medical students. objectives the aim of this study was evaluation of the relation between ei and academic achievement of students working in the medical field. materials and methods this cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students of baqiyatallah university of medical sciences between 2010 and 2011 who had completed at least two academic semesters. valid bar-on inventory and average academic scores were used for evaluating ei and academic achievement, respectively. pearson test was performed to analyze the data. results one hundred-fifty medical students were enrolled (mean age 23.17 ± 2.17 years and all were male). the mean of ei score were 303.14 ± 39.32 and 340.11 ± 35.00 in undergraduate and graduated medical students, respectively. there was a significant correlation between ei score and academic achievement (p = 0.001, correlation coefficient: 0.305). problem solving ability, stress tolerance and self-awareness from all fields showed significant relation with academic achievement (p < 0.05). conclusions according to the results, ei -especially in problem solving ability, stress tolerance and self-awareness fields- was related to the academic achievement. therefore, enhancing such abilities may improve the academic and occupational achievement of the medical students.