Emergency
Medicine

ABOUT EMERGENCY MEDICINE

Overview of the Specialty

Emergency medicine is the specialty that focuses on the recognition, evaluation, and care of patients who are acutely ill or injured. It is a high-pressure, fast-paced and diverse specialty that requires a broad base of medical knowledge and a variety of well-honed clinical and technical skills. The emphasis is on pre-hospital care and the acute care aspects of the other specialties. Emergency physicians treat all age groups in a myriad of conditions with varying degrees of severity. Emergency medicine training also encompasses clinical areas such as disaster medicine and mass gatherings.

Training Requirements

Training consists of a minimum of three years of postgraduate education in one of 3 formats (PGY 1-3, PGY 2-4 with separate internship, PGY 1-4). There are 153 ACGME accredited Emergency Medicine training programs for the 2012/2013 recruitment cycle, offering more than 1600 categorical/advanced positions available to U.S. seniors.

Matching Program Information and Match Statistics

Emergency medicine residency training programs participate in the NRMP. Match results through the NRMP and competitiveness information for emergency medicine residency training programs are summarized in the U.S. Match Statistics table below.

Source: NRMP *Competitiveness is based on the percentage of U.S. seniors who match in each specialty.

Subspecialty/Fellowship Training

Subspecialty/fellowship training following completion of an emergency medicine residency training program is available in sports medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, EMS-prehospital, disaster medicine, medical toxicology, emergency ultrasound/imaging, palliative care, and critical care (coming in 2012 and conjoint with ABIM). Detailed information about the scope of these subspecialty training programs, number of positions offered and length of training is available in the GMED. The American Medical Association and the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access page offer further information.
AMA 
FREIDA

Career Information

FREIDA physician workforce information for each specialty includes statistical information on the number of positions/programs for residency training, resident work hours, resident work environment and compensation, employment status upon completion of program and work environment for those entering practice in each specialty.

EMERGENCY MEDICINE AT A GLANCE

Training

3-4 years of residency

Categorical and advanced positions available

These are minimum requirements. Some programs may have longer residencies.

Fellowships

Lifestyle

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