Abstract: Objective To explore the mediating role of emotional labor between emotional intelligence and job burnout in clinical nurses,so as to provide reference for the accurate formulation of nurses' mental health intervention strategies. Methods Convenience sampling was used to select clinical nurses from a tertiary hospital in Nanjing City as the research subjects from June to July 2024. General information survey,emotional intelligence scale,job burnout scale,and emotional labor scale were used for questionnaire survey,and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the mediating effect of emotional labor. Results A total of 510 nurses were surveyed,with emotional intelligence scores of (84.61±18.12)points,job burnout scores of (66.90±23.16)points,and emotional labor scores of (57.48±12.20)points. Emotional intelligence was negatively correlated with burnout(r=-0.675, P<0.01). The total score and scores of each dimension of burnout were positively correlated with the total score of the surface acting dimension of emotional labor(r=0.092-0.140,all P<0.05),negatively correlated with the total score of the deep acting dimension(r=-0.513--0.375,all P<0.01),and positively correlated with emotional expression demands(r=0.042-0.127,all P<0.05). The mediating effect model fitted well,indicating that emotional labor partially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and burnout(β=0.034,P<0.05). Conclusion The level of burnout among clinical nurses is moderate,and emotional labor partially mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and burnout. Nursing managers should further pay attention to nurse burnout and take targeted intervention measures to improve nurses' emotional intelligence. By adjusting work intensity,improving incentive mechanisms,and other measures,the surface acting and emotional expression demands of emotional labor can be reduced,and the level of deep acting can be improved,thereby reducing burnout.

Key words: Nurse, Emotional intelligence, Job burnout, Emotional labor, Mediating effect