Emergency medicine physicians, also known as accident and emergency physicians, are first line providers of care for undifferentiated and unscheduled patients with illnesses, injuries and behavioural abnormalities requiring immediate attention. They require expert skills in triage, diagnosis and resuscitation as well as a detailed knowledge of many medical and surgical specialities.
Emergency physicians generally practice in hospital emergency departments, pre- hospital settings via emergency medical services and intensive care units, but may also work in primary care settings such as urgent care clinics. Emergency Medicine physicians complete a residency training programme in Emergency Medicine and obtain a board certification or fellowship in Emergency Medicine. Some emergency medicine physicians undertake further training in subspecialist fields such as palliative care, critical care medicine, medical toxicology, wilderness medicine, paediatric emergency medicine, sports medicine, disaster medicine, tactical medicine, ultrasound, pain medicine, pre-hospital emergency medicine , or undersea and hyperbaric medicine.