title: The future of emergency medicine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The specialty of emergency medicine (EM) continues to experience a significant workforce shortage in the face of increasing demand for emergency care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In July 2009, representatives of the leading EM organizations met in Dallas for the Future of Emergency Medicine Summit. Attendees at the Future of Emergency Medicine Summit agreed on the following: 1) Emergency medical care is an essential community service that should be available to all; 2) An insufficient emergency physician workforce also represents a potential threat to patient safety; 3) Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education/American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited EM residency training and American Board of Medical Specialties/AOA EM board certification is the recognized standard for physician providers currently entering a career in emergency care; 4) Physician supply shortages in all fields contribute to-and will continue to contribute to-a situation in which providers with other levels of training may be a necessary part of the workforce for the foreseeable future; 5) A maldistribution of EM residency-trained physicians persists, with few pursuing practice in small hospital or rural settings; 6) Assuring that the public receives high quality emergency care while continuing to produce highly skilled EM specialists through EM training programs is the challenge for EM's future; 7) It is important that all providers of emergency care receive continuing postgraduate education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 655, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Angela F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Larry D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ybarra
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Arlen R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Stauffer
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wilkerson
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brabson
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Roland B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: Theodore A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Christopher
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Muelleman
authors.forename: Mary J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Douglas M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Char
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: McGee
authors.forename: Randy L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Pilgrim
authors.forename: Joshua B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Moskovitz
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zinkel
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Byers
authors.forename: William T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Briggs
authors.forename: Cherri D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Hobgood
authors.forename: Douglas F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Kupas
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krueger
authors.forename: Cary J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Stratford
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Jouriles
mesh_terms: D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000592:standards; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education; D010823:Physician Assistants / Q000193:education; D000078329:Workforce