If you are considering a career in emergency medicine, it is important to know exactly what will be expected of you. Your primary job will be to act quickly in stabilizing patients in an emergency room setting. Beyond this, you will need to be able to promptly and efficiently recognize a sick or debilitated patient without much information or a lot of tools at your disposal; you must also be able to evaluate the patient and come up with the tentative diagnosis. You will also be required to work with many patients from many different backgrounds, and thus, should have a very good amount of communication skills.
If you truly have your heart set on becoming an emergency medicine physician, you will have to commit to a good deal of education, and a potentially very long stint in residency. Generally speaking, you will be required to have four years of undergraduate work under your belt; plus four years of medical school training with a focus on emergency treatments such as cardiac life support, and trauma care. You can also take additional courses for subspecialties like toxicology, pediatric and even sports medicine. After you have finished all of the educational requirements, you will then have to go through a rigorous residency, or in some cases, internship that can last anywhere from 3 to 8 years. These years are important, as they will ready you for the real-world experience of emergency medicine.
You can feel safe that after the grueling amount of work you have put into your education and career, you will be duly rewarded. As of now, there is a significant shortage of certified emergency physicians that is thought to last for quite a long time, so you will almost certainly have no trouble securing a position upon graduation. The salary and benefits you receive can vary from location, but the pay generally ranges from the low 0,000s to as high as 0,000 a year. As for benefits, most places will offer the spectrum of health insurance, as well as malpractice, life and pension plans. You may also receive funding for continuing education. This career is also great for those who like to move around, as this job tends to travel; you can also set up your own practice, and will generally make a competitive salary with low overhead costs.
Although a career as an emergency medicine physician may be too strenuous for many people, those who can commit and stick to the extensive training, long residencies, and the arduous nature of the job as a whole will get the opportunity to have a career that will be rewarding, will pay very well, and will allow them a lot of freedom.
Tags: cardiac life support, educational requirements, emergency medicine physician, emergency physicians, emergency treatments, even sports, sports medicine, trauma care, undergraduate work, world experience