Emergency medicine training, competency, and professional practice principles

Policy Statement

Policy statements and clinical policies are the official policies of the American College of Emergency Physicians and, as such, are not subject to the same peer review process as articles appearing in the journal. Policy statements and clinical policies of ACEP do not necessarily reflect the policies and beliefs of Annals of Emergency Medicine and its editors.

Emergency Medicine Training, Competency, and Professional Practice Principles

Emergency Medicine Training, Competency, and Professional Practice Principles

[American College of Emergency Physicians. Emergency medicine training, competency, and professional practice principles. Ann Emerg Med. April 2002;39:468.]

Approved by the ACEP Board of Directors November 2001. Endorsed by the: American Academy of Emergency Medicine American College of Emergency Physicians Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Copyright © 2002 by the American College of Emergency Physicians. 0196-0644/2002/$35.00 + 0 47/1/123048 doi:10.1067/mem.2002.123048

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Emergency Medicine is recognized as a specialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Osteopathic Association. Responsibilities of specialty status include accrediting graduate medical education training programs and credentialing physicians as certified specialists. These responsibilities require creating standards for competency and defining professional practice principles. Emergency physicians provide care and make treatment decisions based on real time evaluation of patients’ history, physical findings and many diagnostic studies, including the interpretation of electrocardiographs, imaging studies and laboratory tests. Emergency physicians possess a wide range of skills to treat injuries and illnesses and perform many interventions including but not limited to resuscitative procedures and trauma stabilization in patients of all ages. It is the combined role and responsibility of the specialty organizations and the accrediting and certifying bodies in emergency medicine to set and approve the training standards, assess competency through board certification processes and establish the professional practice principles for emergency physicians. This policy statement was approved by the ACEP Board of Directors November 2001.

ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE

39:4 APRIL 2002