**1. Introduction**

The individual ability to cope with the acute stresses and demands within both professional and personal domains is an important and often overlooked construct, especially in the context of organizational functioning and the ability to appropriately process and respond to external stimuli [1–5]. In the era of near-universal embrace of the concept of 'emotional intelligence' (EI) and related topics [6], it is becoming increasingly apparent that the experience of repeated 'micro-stresses' and the associated emotional trauma may contribute to the development of burnout and other behavioral health sequelae [7–11]. When compounded by acute elevations in stress levels and cognitive load, as often experienced by graduate medical education (GME) trainees, a set of environmental conditions may create a fertile substrate for both momentary (and at times sustained) loss of emotional control [12–15].

Medical trainees, both graduate and undergraduate, are among the most affected and burnout-prone groups [6, 11]. Consequently, explorations are ongoing into why extensive efforts and research in the area of medical trainee burnout have not appreciably reduced the incidence of this damaging phenomenon [16–18]. As the complexity of the problem at hand became increasingly apparent, so did the need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach to coping with a combination of personal and professional life difficulties [19]. The result is the emergence of the concept of 'coping intelligence' (CI) which can be defined as a collection of "efficient individual ways of managing life stress" [20]. In this chapter, we will explore key concepts related to CI, focusing on the graduate medical education (GME) as our contextual anchor. We will also propose a conceptual foundation whereby CI can be thought of as a logical extension of EI, both being functionally important components of the 'coping continuum'.
