Emergency Medicine Physician Job Description

Emergency Medicine: A Primer for Physicians

Military officers in combat, doctors in the emergency room of your local hospital, and other careers require the ability to think clearly in a crisis. The high standards of the medical profession make emergency medicine very demanding and stress-inducing. Emergency physicians have less time to manage their diagnostic challenges than other doctors.

Emergency physicians work in hospitals and community clinics. Depending on the location and type of facility, the patients they see vary widely. Emergency departments in major cities see thousands of patients every day, and they cope with gunshot wounds and other major trauma.

In smaller communities where doctors are in short supply, the emergency room of the local clinic or hospital might be able to provide primary health care for large numbers of patients. Emergency physicians must be able to diagnose and treat high-speed emergency patients. Emergency physicians are often called upon to deal with trauma and critical care situations.

Accidents, violence, illnesses, animal bites, and accidental poisonings are all common in emergency medicine. Doctors must have the skills and knowledge to recognize the most serious cases, order tests, and direct others in providing the necessary care. A strong grasp of cardiac resuscitation, epidemiology and toxicology is required by emergency doctors.

Most emergency physicians rely on their team of nurses, residents, physician assistants, orderlies, trauma surgeons and EMTs or paramedics to do their job. Emergency physicians start their careers by earning an undergraduate pre medical degree and then going on to medical or osteopathic college for four years. After graduation, the newly trained doctor goes to an emergency medicine residency program to learn the specialty by working with experienced emergency physicians.

Patients who experience sudden illness or injury go to the hospital emergency rooms. An emergency medicine specialist is a doctor who diagnoses and treats injuries in an emergency room or other urgent care setting. Emergency medicine is a rewarding career and it also comes with a reward of saving lives.

ER doctors need intensive training to be able to shoulder their responsibilities. An ER doctor needs to have the academic ability to complete medical school and the skills to perform typical emergency room procedures, but also be able to make quick decisions in a crisis. Emergency room physicians work in a high-pressure environment, where lives are on the line.

They must be able to care for patients who arrive in the emergency room with more than one life-threatening situation. Emergency medical specialists help in the insurance reimbursement process by documenting all the drugs they prescribe, as well as all the tests and procedures they order. An emergency room physician is the leader of the emergency medical team and they communicate with other members of the emergency room staff and paramedics before a patient arrives on an ambulance.

An Overview of Emergency Room Physicians

If you want a high-paying job that women earn the same as men and have many of the same opportunities for advancement, an emergency room physician is a job that could be for you. You will have to spend a lot of time in school before you go to the ER. Emergency room doctors spend four years as an undergrad, four years in medical school and anywhere from three to seven years as a resident, while they have to take and pass the United States Medical Licensing Exam and become board certified in emergency medicine.

An emergency physician can determine the severity of a problem by assessing a patient. Patients are contacted by physicians to get their medical history and learn about their illnesses. They perform physical exams to diagnose and treat patients.

Emergency room physicians refer patients to a surgeon if they need to be. They can admit patients to the hospital and discharge patients they've treated. Doctors in the ER perform a wide range of procedures.

They treat broken bones, stitch and care for lacerations, monitor EKGs for patients with heart problems, insert tubes and lines in patients, treat severe infections, perform echocardiograms, diagnose illnesses that threaten a patient's life and prescribe medication for routine medical problems. An emergency room physician must be able to quickly assess a patient's condition with little information, make a preliminary diagnosis and begin treating a patient. An emergency room doctor is part of a team of specialists, nurses, nursing assistants and aides who perform a defined role when a patient comes to the emergency room.

The ER doctor leads the team and gives instructions to other team members regarding the specific actions to take with a patient. Emergency room physicians keep patients informed of their treatment. They speak with the patient's family to update them on their diagnosis.

Teamwork Skills in Emergency Medicine

Emergency medicine is a very competitive and interesting medical specialty that provides medical students with clinical skills and medical knowledge required to provide acute and life-saving care. Emergency medicine physicians are trained to treat life threatening conditions. Their primary job is to help patients by preventing, diagnosis, and managing illnesses.

Medical students can learn about pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency medical systems. Emergency physicians are supposed to provide emergency care for the acutely ill and treat all kinds of injuries to provide urgent care. Emergency medicine doctors can also work in community health centers.

They are responsible for treating a lot of medical conditions and life threatening conditions, such asthmattacks, heart attacks, bone injuries, appendicitis, pregnancy related emergencies and much more. Emergency physicians should provide urgent and appropriate treatment to sustain the patient, make an effective diagnosis and provide successful treatment. ER doctors need to stay calm and focused to provide the best treatment for every patient.

Emergency physicians have to face different situations and discuss the condition of the patient with a family. You have to provide the right medications for patients with serious conditions, but you also have to deal with patients who are not urgent. Dealing with such a wide range of conditions requires you to control your mindset and remain calm.

Emergency medicine physicians need to stay calm and deal with patients based on severity of injury or illness. You need to work well with others if you want to pursue a career in medicine. Team collaboration is something you need to do in the emergency department.

What Do You Want to Do in Your Emergency Medicine Practice?

In the past, graduating emergency physicians have been helped by the lack of trained emergency physicians, but with more than 1,000 graduating every year, starting early and being organized is crucial. Your advisers should review the CV when the ED directors decide to invite you for an interview. Many emergency medicine residents have excellent clinical skills that they can offer their prospective employers.

If you have a good working relationship with your attendings and your residency director, consider having an emergency department nurse manager write a reference. It will help document that you work well with your peers and other medical staff. What is most important to you as an emergency physiciand what you want to do in your practice are two things you should reflect on during your residency.

If you know what you want early on in the search, you won't waste time interviewing for jobs that don't offer it. The best emergency medicine positions are in a place where you will be happy. If you want to live in that area, you will be happy working there.

The emergency department practice that best suits your needs is dependent on a number of different factors. Academic positions require teaching and may be active in research. Community emergency medicine practices will need more hours of clinical work, but will have better financial packages.

Some emergency physicians like the freedom to focus on patient care issues that is offered by working for large multi-hospitals groups, but others want more control over administrative decisions offered by independent hospital-based groups. Job listings are posted in emergency medicine journals. emCareers.org is a great resource for job hunters and offers a number of great services.

Locum Tenens: A Career Option for Emergency Physician

The job search is just as difficult for new doctors as medical school and residency are. You just spent four years in medicine, not in how to conduct the best physician job search. Loca tenens is one option you may not have considered.

Locum tenens are physicians who work short-term jobs in various locations while a hospital or other healthcare system searches for a permanent physician, while a permanent physician is on vacation or leave of absence. It can be the right career path for emergency physicians who are just starting out, as the use of locum tenens is increasing. Locum tenens jobs give you the flexibility you won't find in a traditional physician job search.

The hourly rates for locum tenens doctors are higher than for traditionally employed doctors because the physicians must manage their own tax obligations, retirement planning, health insurance and other benefits. The benefits are far outweighing the risks for the emergency physician who likes to travel or work fewer hours. Locum tenens physicians must be certain they are licensed to practice in the states where they are looking for work.

Since physicians prescribe controlled substances, they must register with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Doctors who are in the training hospital must obtaindividual DEA registration after they finish their training. There is an online application that can be used to cut down on paperwork.

Locum tenens is no longer just a career option for retired physicians. It is a great career path for people who want to work less hours while raising a family, or who want more control over their career. The demand for physicians in locum tenens jobs is strong and expected to remain that way for the foreseeable future.