Origin Recognized as a distinct specialty later than most: the first residency training program in emergency medicine in the United States was established at the University of Cincinnati in 1970, and the American Board of Emergency Medicine was created in 1979. Organized emergency and disaster medical response in conflict and epidemic settings was pioneered internationally from 1971 onward by Doctors Without Borders, whose founding year predates that first residency program by a year.
Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the immediate diagnosis and treatment of acute illness and injury, including trauma, cardiac arrest and poisoning, and with the initial resuscitation and stabilization of patients regardless of the underlying cause. It matured later than most clinical specialties, professionalizing over the twentieth century alongside civilian ambulance systems and hospital emergency departments, and its organized disaster and conflict-zone practice was shaped substantially by humanitarian medical organizations.
Facts
Origin PeriodRecognized as a distinct specialty later than most: the first residency training program in emergency medicine in the United States was established at the University of Cincinnati in 1970, and the American Board of Emergency Medicine was created in 1979. Organized emergency and disaster medical response in conflict and epidemic settings was pioneered internationally from 1971 onward by Doctors Without Borders, whose founding year predates that first residency program by a year. 2 Classification
Type/Classification Emergency Medicine
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Associated With
Emergency care hands critically ill patients to intensive care
Notable Specialists
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Treats
Sources
1. Emergency medicine (Wikipedia)
Lead section, sentences 1-2Quote, Lead section, sentences 1-2
Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated patients of all ages.
2. The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity
Roy Porter, W. W. Norton and Company, 1997
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Frequently Asked Questions
What does emergency medicine deal with?
Immediate care of acute illness and injury, plus initial resuscitation.
Emergency medicine is concerned with the immediate diagnosis and treatment of acute illness and injury, including trauma, cardiac arrest and poisoning, and with the initial resuscitation and stabilization of patients regardless of the underlying cause.
When did emergency medicine professionalize?
Over the twentieth century, alongside ambulance systems and emergency departments.
It matured later than most clinical specialties, professionalizing over the twentieth century alongside civilian ambulance systems and hospital emergency departments.
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