MEDICAL SPECIALTY SELECTOR
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Emergency Medicine
The emergency medicine physician is defined by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEM) as one who is a specialist in breadth, whose training is focused on the acute and the life-threatening aspects of medical care, and who, by nature of his practice, is available when the patient needs him. The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates defines the emergency medicine physician as the one who recognizes, evaluates, and cares for patients who are acutely ill or injured; administers, researches, and teaches emergency medical care; directs patients to follow-up care in or out of the hospital; provides emergency care, when requested, to hospitalized patients; and manages the emergency medical system for prehospital emergency care. The emergency physician functions both as the manager of the emergency department in a hospital and as the clinician most apt to first see the injured patient.
- Number of physicians in specialty - Medium, under 50,000
- Competitiveness of Residency - Low to Medium, depending on location
- Length of training . Three or four years. The majority of emergency medicine residency programs begin in the first year after medical school (internship year). Those programs beginning in the second year require a transitional, internal medicine, family medicine, or surgery internship year and applications are made in the fall of internship year.
- Sub-specialty/Fellowship/ Combined training - A two year pediatric emergency medicine fellowship requires successful completion of a three year emergency medicine or pediatrics residency. A two year fellowship in medical toxicology requires successful completion of a three year residency in emergency medicine, pediatrics or preventive medicine. A one year fellowship in sports medicine is available for those completing a residency program in emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, or physical medicine and rehabilitation. There are five-year combined residencies in emergency medicine-family medicine, emergency medicine-internal medicine and emergency medicine-pediatrics.
Values & Personality Traits of Physicians in Emergency Medicine
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Values Match
- Good income
- Independence
- Sufficient time off
- Variety
- Achievement
- Creativity
- Feedback from others
- Prestige
- Security
- Working with my hands
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
American Academy of Emergency Medicine
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) is the specialty society of emergency medicine. ...
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SDN Emergency Medicine Forum
Discuss emergency medicine with your peers on the Student Doctor Network community forums....
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In How to Choose A Medical Specialty, you'll find helpful information straight from specialists from typical daily schedules to advice for interested students...
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