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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 22 European national societies of Emergency Medicine and represents more than 12,000 emergency physicians in Europe.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF
EMERGENCY MEDICINE IN EUROPE?

Emergency Medicine is currently recognised as an independent specialty in 9 member states of the European Union (EU Directive 2005/36/EC) and in some other 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. All European countries should thus work towards the establishment of Emergency Medicine as a primary medical specialty.

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF EuSEM POLICY?

The European Society for Emergency Medicine seeks 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 has 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 5 years. EuSEM has already published a European core curriculum for the specialty and is now working with a Multidisciplinary Joint Committee of the Union Europeenne des Medecins Specialistes (UEMS). This Committee is overseeing a revision of the core curriculum and is considering the principles involved in the establishment and organisation of training programmes of comparable standard in recognised departments across Europe.

SUMMARY OF EuSEM POLICY

The main objective of EuSEM is to ensure the highest quality of emergency care for patients. This care should be delivered by physicians trained in Emergency Medicine. Emergency Medicine should be developed as a primary medical specialty in all European countries in order that patients have access to high quality emergency care.
September 2007