Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;3(1):5-10.
doi: 10.5847/wjem.j.issn.1920-8642.2012.01.001.

Emergency medicine in the United States: a systemic review

Robert E Suter  1
Affiliations

Emergency medicine in the United States: a systemic review

Robert E Suter. World J Emerg Med. 2012.

Abstract

Background: Fifty years of our history in developing and advancing emergency medicine into an independent medical specialty will surely provide emergency medicine colleagues from all over the world with valuable suggestions and guidance.

Data sources: This systemic review is based on the author's extensive experience through active involvement in the national and international development of emergency medicine.

Results: Emergency physicians in the U.S. emergency departments and sometimes other settings provide urgent and emergency care to patients of all ages, including definitive diagnosis of emergent conditions, prolonged stabilization of patients when necessary, airway management, and life-saving procedures using rapid sequence intubation and sedation. They use a multitude of diagnostic technologies including laboratory studies, bedside ultrasound and other sophisticated radiology, such as CT scan, and MRI.

Conclusion: In the U.S., emergency medicine fits extremely well into the overall medical system, and is clearly the most efficient way to provide emergency patient care.

Keywords: Emergency medicine; Systemic review; U.S.A..

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Early emergency department (ED) staffing changes in the U.S..
Figure 2
Figure 2
Need for the specialty in the U.S..
Figure 3
Figure 3
IEEM definition of emergency medicine.
Figure 4
Figure 4
U.S. national emergency medicine organizations.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Factors stimulating emergency medicine growth in the 21st century.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Weisz G. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2005. Divide and Conquer: A Comparative History of Medical Specialization.
    1. Bodiwala G. Emergency Medicine. A Global Specialty. Emerg Med Australasia. 2007;19:287–288. - PubMed
    1. Arnold J. International emergency medicine and the recent development of emergency medicine worldwide. Ann Emerg Med. 1999;33:97–103. - PubMed
    1. Alagappan K, Holliman CJ. History of the development of international emergency medicine. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2005;23:1–10. - PubMed
    1. Rochefort M. Comparative medical systems. Annu Rev Sociol. 1996;22:239–270.

LinkOut - more resources