Self-perceived emotional intelligence in healthcare personnel is not just an individual skill but a work tool, which is even more necessary in times of crisis. This article aimed to determine emotional intelligence as perceived by students studying nursing at the University of Colima, Mexico, a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey of an academic year stratified population of 349 students was conducted, using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 instrument. A global descriptive analysis was performed for each school year. Additionally, an ANOVA was performed, and a Multiple Correspondence Analysis was executed. It is essential to highlight the high percentages for emotional attention within the results. However, a large percentage of students required improvement in emotional attention, clarity, and repair. According to their school year, significant differences were observed among student groups within the three emotional intelligence subscales (p < 0.05). Second-year students had low levels in the three subscales of emotional intelligence, while fourth-year students had adequate levels. We established that the scores were different depending on the school year, with a significant decrease in second-year students. The implementation of educational programs could aid in the development of emotional skills in students from the health field, especially in times of crisis.
Keywords: emotional intelligence; multivariate statistics; nursing; pandemic; school year.