Emergency physician

Physician specialized in emergency medicine

Emergency physician

Emergency medicine simulation

Occupation

Occupation type

| Specialty

Activity sectors

| Medicine
Description

Education required

| Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

Fields of
employment

| Hospitals, Clinics, Helicopter Emergency Medical Service

An emergency physician (often called an "ER doctor" in the United States) is a physician who works in an emergency department to care for ill patients. The emergency physician specializes in advanced cardiac life support (advanced life support in Europe), resuscitation, trauma care such as fractures and soft tissue injuries, and management of other life-threatening situations.

In some European countries (e.g. Germany, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Denmark and Sweden), emergency physicians/anaesthetists[1] are also part of the emergency medical service. They are dispatched together with emergency medical technicians and paramedics in cases of potentially life-threatening situations for patients (heart attacks, serious accidents, resuscitations or unconsciousness, strokes, drug overdoses, etc.).[2] In the United States, emergency physicians are mostly hospital-based, but also work on air ambulances and mobile intensive-care units.

Patients who are brought in the emergency department are usually sent to triage first. The patient may be triaged by an emergency physician, a paramedic, or a nurse; in the United States, triage is usually performed by a registered nurse. If the patient requires admission to the hospital, another physician, such as an internal medicine physician, cardiologist, or neurologist takes over from the emergency physician.

## Training in the United States

[edit]

The standard training route of emergency physicians in the United States is four years of college, four years of an approved medical school, and then a three- or four-year residency in emergency medicine.[3] After completion of residency it is common for American emergency physicians to work in a hospital's emergency department and take the board certification necessary to become certified in emergency medicine. This includes a 300+ question written exam followed by an oral examination.[4]

## Role in healthcare

[edit]

Emergency physicians in the United States typically work in emergency departments. Patients come in for a variety of reasons, including severe, life-threatening complaints such as strokes and heart attacks, potentially life-threatening complaints like severe abdominal pain, and less severe complaints such as mild injuries. The emergency physician is expected to oversee their care, rule out life-threatening diseases, stabilize the patient if necessary, and decide if the patient needs to be admitted to the hospital for further care or discharged home to follow up as an outpatient.[5] Emergency physicians work with a large number of other professionals, including physician assistants/nurse practitioners, registered nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, medical technicians, medical scribes, and more. For more information on what the practice of an emergency physician looks like, see emergency medicine.

## Fellowship

[edit]

Some additional training paths after becoming an emergency physician include:

* Toxicology
* Wilderness medicine
* Emergency ultrasound
* Trauma and/or critical care
* Sports medicine
* Pediatric emergency medicine
* Medical education
* International emergency medicine
* Hyperbaric and undersea medicine
* Emergency medical services (EMS) and disaster medicine
* Aerospace medicine

These training paths are recognized by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and are anywhere from 1–2 years in length.[6]

## See also

[edit]

* Ambulance
* American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians
* Emergency department
* Emergency medical services
* Emergency medicine
* Fellow of American College of Emergency Physicians \- professional certification for emergency physicians
* Primary care physician

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Training". Ibtphem.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
2. ^ "Emergency Medicine - A Practical Perspective". Loyala University Medical Education Network. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
3. ^ "What Is an Emergency Medicine Doctor?". WebMD.
4. ^ "Resident's Guide to ABEM Certification". www.abem.org.
5. ^ "American Board of Emergency Medicine | An ABMS Member Board". American Board of Medical Specialties.
6. ^ Boyden, Megan. "MD" (PDF). aaemrsa.org. American Academy of Emergency Medicine.

## External links

[edit]

* American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians
* American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Physicians
* Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians

* v
* t
* e

Emergency medicine

Emergency medicine|

* Emergency department
* Emergency medical services
* Emergency nursing
* Emergency psychiatry
* Golden hour
* Medical emergency
* International emergency medicine
* Pediatric emergency medicine
* Pre-hospital emergency medicine
* Major trauma
* Trauma center
* Triage

Equipment|

* Bag valve mask (BVM)
* Chest tube
* Defibrillation (AED
* ICD)
* Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
* Intraosseous infusion (IO)
* Intravenous therapy (IV)
* Tracheal intubation
* Laryngeal tube
* Combitube
* Nasopharyngeal airway (NPA)
* Oropharyngeal airway (OPA)
* Pocket mask

Drugs|

* Adenosine
* Amiodarone
* Atropine
* Dopamine
* Epinephrine / Adrenaline
* Naloxone
* Magnesium sulfate
* Sodium bicarbonate

Organisations|

* International Federation for Emergency Medicine (International Conference on Emergency Medicine)
* American College of Emergency Physicians
* Australasian College for Emergency Medicine
* Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians
* Royal College of Emergency Medicine
* European Society for Emergency Medicine
* Asian Society for Emergency Medicine
* American Academy of Emergency Medicine

Courses / Life support|

* First aid
* Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
* Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
* Basic life support (BLS)
* Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS)
* Advanced trauma life support (ATLS)
* Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)
* Acute Care of at-Risk Newborns (ACoRN)
* Pediatric basic life support (PBLS)
* Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
* Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO)
* Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient (CCrISP)

Scoring systems|

* NACA score
* Injury Severity Score

* Category
* Outline

* v
* t
* e

Emergency medical services

* Paramedicine
* Basic life support
* Advanced life support

People|

* Certified first responder
* Combat medic
* Emergency care assistant
* Emergency medical dispatcher
* Emergency medical responder
* Emergency medical technician
* Advanced emergency medical technician
* Paramedic
* Emergency physician
* Medical director

Vehicles|

* Air medical services
* Ambulance
* history
* Ambulance bus
* Blood bike
* Combination car
* Light horse field ambulance
* Motorcycle ambulance
* Nontransporting EMS vehicle
* Water ambulance

Casualty lifting
and movement|

* Kendrick extrication device
* Litter
* Spinal board
* Scoop stretcher
* Spinal precautions
* Stretcher
* Vacuum mattress
* Weevac 6

Other|

* Ambulance station
* Rescue squad
* Search and rescue

Related fields|

* Aviation medicine
* Critical emergency medicine
* Diving medicine
* Emergency medicine
* Military medicine
* Wilderness medicine

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany
* United States
* Israel

|

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