A teaching experience aimed at health professionals during the second wave pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

In a master's level course in a university in Spain with 9 students, 4 physical therapists, 2 nurses, 2 sports professionals and 1 social worker, due to the situation created by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the class started by sharing the experiences they had had in the first and second waves of the pandemic. Out of a group of 9 participants, 6 work in the area of healthcare or social healthcare: in primary care, in elderly care homes, hospital wards converted into areas for patients with SARS-CoV- 2, or healthcare service workers in private homes. During the class they expressed an explosion of emotions such as frustration, powerlessness, fear, tension, anxiety, rage, and anger. 2 of them had lost close relatives, and were therefore still grieving, 2 needed psychological attention, and a third one became aware that he/she needed professional help. Upon sharing their experiences, they identified their emotions, understood them, and talked about how they were handling them. They were introduced to a model of Emotional Intelligence, and they evaluated their own levels of anxiety and their way of handling emotions using 2 validated tools The group asked for more time for this type of training, particularly during the difficult time of the pandemic, concluding that sharing emotions, helping to redirect them, is a type of Emotional Intelligence that is effective for handling emotional crises.