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POLICY STATEMENT ON
EMERGENCY MEDICINE IN EUROPE

WHAT IS EMERGENCY MEDICINE?

Emergency Medicine is a specialty based on the knowledge and skills required for the prevention, diagnosis and management of urgent and emergency aspects of illness and injury affecting patients of all age groups with a full spectrum of undifferentiated physical and behavioural disorders. It is a specialty in which time is critical. The practice of Emergency Medicine encompasses the pre-hospital and in-hospital triage, resuscitation, initial assessment and management of undifferentiated urgent and emergency cases until discharge or transfer to the care of another physician or health care professional. It also includes involvement in the development of pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency medical systems.

WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR EMERGENCY MEDICINE (EuSEM)?

The European Society for Emergency Medicine (EuSEM) incorporates a Federation which currently includes 24 European national societies of Emergency Medicine and represents more than 16,000 medical members in Europe.

WHAT IS THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOINT COMMITTEE (MJC) ON EMERGENCY MEDICINE?

The MJC on Emergency Medicine (MJC - EM) is a Committee of the Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes (UEMS). It includes representatives from the UEMS Sections of Anaesthesiology, Cardiology, Geriatrics, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Orthopaedics, Paediatrics and Surgery, the MJC on Intensive Care Medicine, the PWG of Junior Doctors, the Secretary–General of UEMS and the European Society for Emergency Medicine.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE IN EUROPE?

Emergency Medicine is currently recognised as an independent specialty in fifteen member states of the European Union (although only nine are listed in the EU Directive 2005/36/EC) and in five EU countries it exists as a supraspecialty. The European Society for Emergency Medicine considers that the provision of high quality emergency care requires physicians with specialised training in Emergency Medicine because this is the most effective way (in both clinical and financial terms) to provide high quality care during the critical initial stages of emergency treatment. It is thus recommended that other European countries should work towards the establishment of Emergency Medicine as a primary medical specialty.

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF EuSEM and MJC - EM POLICY?

The European Society for Emergency Medicine and the Multidisciplinary Joint Committee on EM seek to ensure:

• The highest quality of emergency care for all patients
• The delivery of such care by specialists trained in Emergency Medicine
• A comparable standard of clinical care in Emergency Departments across Europe
In order to achieve these objectives EuSEM and the MJC - EM have the following aims:

• European competency-based core curriculum to include:

- Patient Care
- Medical Knowledge
- Communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills
- Professionalism, ethical and legal issues
- Organisational planning and service management skills
- Academic activities – education and research

• Education and training programmes to deliver this core curriculum
• Assessment and examination structure to confirm that the necessary competencies have been acquired
• Clinical standards and a robust audit programme to ensure that these standards are being achieved
• Research projects to contribute to the development of an international evidence base for the specialty
• Inclusion of Emergency Medicine as a core part of the medical undergraduate curriculum

WHAT TRAINING SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO PRACTISE EMERGENCY MEDICINE IN EUROPE?

The EU Doctors’ Directive requires that training in Emergency Medicine should be for a minimum of five years. A multi-national Task Force of EuSEM has been working with the Multidisciplinary Joint Committee on Emergency Medicine (MJC - EM) of the Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes (UEMS) and recently finalised a comprehensive Core Curriculum for Emergency Medicine in Europe. This curriculum includes the principles involved in the establishment and organisation of training programmes of comparable standard in recognised departments across Europe and was formally endorsed by the Council of UEMS on 25 April 2009.

SUMMARY OF EuSEM & MJC - EM POLICY

The main objective of EuSEM and the MJC - EM is that the specialty of Emergency Medicine should continue to develop to the standards endorsed by the Council of UEMS to seek to ensure the highest quality of emergency care for patients. This care should be delivered by physicians trained in Emergency Medicine.

Approved and endorsed by the Council of UEMS on 17 October 2009