The future of emergency medicine.
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.
Schneider
Sandra M
SM
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 655, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
Gardner
Angela F
AF
Weiss
Larry D
LD
Wood
Joseph P
JP
Ybarra
Michael
M
Beck
Dennis M
DM
Stauffer
Arlen R
AR
Wilkerson
Dean
D
Brabson
Thomas
T
Jennings
Anthony
A
Mitchell
Mark
M
McGrath
Roland B
RB
Christopher
Theodore A
TA
King
Brent
B
Muelleman
Robert L
RL
Wagner
Mary J
MJ
Char
Douglas M
DM
McGee
Douglas L
DL
Pilgrim
Randy L
RL
Moskovitz
Joshua B
JB
Zinkel
Andrew R
AR
Byers
Michelle
M
Briggs
William T
WT
Hobgood
Cherri D
CD
Kupas
Douglas F
DF
Krueger
Jennifer
J
Stratford
Cary J
CJ
Jouriles
Nicholas J
NJ
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