Facing Adversity during Graduate Medical Training: The Concept of ‘Coping Intelligence’

Abstract

Effective coping strategies are of great importance for trainees actively navigating the challenges and stresses of graduate medical education (GME). Although there is increasing emphasis on the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) in medical curricula, the range of behavioral skills learned in typical EI training may not be sufficient when dealing with extreme stress – something that healthcare students in general, and GME trainees as a subset, continue to struggle with. Under the conditions of extreme stress, multiple competing priorities and high cognitive load, even those with excellent command of EI skills may not be able to universally maintain sufficient emotional control. This, in turn, exposes a significant opportunity for further understanding and development in this dynamically evolving area of investigation. Increasing amount of research suggests that a unique skill set exists, known as ‘coping intelligence’ (CI), that may help fill the gap under the conditions of extreme stress and significantly elevated cognitive load. This chapter will discuss CI as a unique and novel concept, further exploring the possibility of introducing this new construct into the realm of GME.

Introductory Chapter: Medical Education at the Crossroads - Things Are Not How They Used to Be, Things Are Not as They Seem

“…While such a basic foundation still exists, contemporary medical schools are continuing to search for better, more innovative methods to teach and objectively test core knowledge, including its application(s) to patient care [5,6]. Without a doubt the evolution of ME, as emphasized throughout this text, continues to take center stage, with an increasing focus on evidence-based methods, adoption of technological advances and interactive simulation, social media platforms, and renewed emphasis on "soft skills" such as emotional and coping intelligence [7][8][9][10][11]. In addition to the key conceptual framework of the "art of medicine" as historically lectured, taught, and applied, the education of a contemporary physician is much more complex (and substantially more expensive) than at any other time in the past.…”