EDITORIALS
Whilethe authors accept responsibility for the contents of this editorial, they acknowledgethe helpful suggestions and editing of Andrew Avins, Andrew 8indman,Jesus Bucardo, Barbara Gerbert, Peter Lurie, EugeneWashington, andthe Prevention Sciences 6roup peer review seminar.
Academic Emergency Medicine Seerelated article, page 94Z
More than 20 years ago the visionaries of our specialty realized that the credence of emergency medicine and its evolution would lie in the establishment of graduate training programs and the possession of a major role within colleges of medicine. These two important endeavors would stimulate the creation of standards for training and credentialing, would lead to continuing medical educational efforts, and would stimulate the propagation of new and improved research methodologies. Their wisdom was profound, and the proof of their visions materialize as we review academic emergency medicine today. The article in this issue of Annals, "Academic Emergency Medicine: A National Profile With and Without Emergency Medicine Residency P r o g r a m s , " by Chernow et al demonstrates the effect emergency medicine has, and will continue to have, on academic medical centers. Comparing major university hospitals, with the variable being the existence of an emergency medicine residency program, reveals much in the area of clinical care and education. The establishment of an emergency medicine residency p r o g r a m in an academic medical center, according to the authors, significantly enhances the emergency department faculty attending coverage. This expanded coverage equates to more faculty in emergency medicine available for the training programs, thus also augmenting the research effort, as evidenced by the increased number of publications in programs with emergency medicine residencies. The quality of the faculty also is magnified, with more board-certified emergency physicians found in academic centers with residency programs. Recruitment becomes easier, housestaff curriculum is improved, and medical students' rotation and educational conferenc~es exist in greater numbers. These facts may lead us to u n d e r s t a n d why more than 40% of the programs without residencies were actively planning a program, and an additional 40% were considering future development of an emergency medicine residency program. We are at the stage of m a t u r a t i o n in our specialty where physician credentialing for b o a r d certification requires successful completion of an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved emergency medicine residency program. There are presently 93 approved residency programs with a prediction for 100 programs by match time 1993. Chernow's article predicts that major teaching hospitals are now claiming that close to 30 new residency programs are being actively planned, with an equal n u m b e r to be created in the future. It is not unreasonable to assume that the t u r n of the century will see more than 140 emergency medicine residency programs in place.
AUGUST1992
21:8 ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
The effect such enhancement of academic growth is obvious, as has been presented in this article and by others. Robert Petersdorf, in his address to the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, during his Kennedy Lecture in May 1991, noted the success of emergency medicine and admonished us to enhance our academic pursuits, but stated that within a single physician generation, "you've come a long way baby."l Academic attendings in the ED, more q/~alified clinicians practicing emergency medicine, enhanced educational programs, reasonable clinical hours for honsestaff, improved conferences and medical student education in emergency medicine, and increased research productivity are desirable accomplishments in the pursuit of academic excellence. It appears that having an emergency medicine residency in an academic institution is the variable to achieve these successes. This article, along with others that relate the academic work style of emergency physicians, demonstrates the fact that attrition among academic emergency physicians is relatively low. 2,3 These facts serve as evidence of the stability of emergency medicine, as well as a p r e d i c t o r for continued positive academic growth. Stability of a specialty and the enhancement of quality education, research and patient care are the p a r a m e t e r s of excellence any medical system must strive to achieve. The specialty of emergency medicine must support the advancement of emergency medicine in academic institutions. This includes the development of residency programs, the establishment of academic departments of emergency medicine, and funding the research efforts of emergency medicine faculty. We should demand that our teaching hospitals provide excellence in emergency medical care and training. Our hope has been that the specialty of emergency medicine will survive, evolve, and meet its needs through academic emergency medicine. The article by Chernow et al gives us evidence of that fact and will serve as a monitomng tool to gauge the effectiveness of the academic emergency medicine base. I laud the authors for their work and encourage them to continue these pursuits and further study the development of academic emergency medicine over the years. Harvey W Meislin, MD, FACEP Sectionof EmergencyMedicine University of ArizonaHealthSciencesCenter EmergencyMedicineResearchCenter Tucson 1. Petersdorf RG:The place of emergencymedicinein the academic community.Ann
EmergMed1992;21:193-200. 2. Hair KN, Wakeman MA, LevyRC, et al: Factors associatedwith career longevity in residency-trained emergencyphysicians.AnnEmergMed1992;21:291-297. 3. Meislin HW, Spaite DW, ValenzuelaTD: Meeting the goals of academia: Characteristics of emergencymedicinefaculty academic work styles. AnnEmergMed 1992;21:299-302.
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Whilethe authors accept responsibility for the contents of this editorial, they acknowledgethe helpful suggestions and editing of Andrew Avins, Andrew 8indman,Jesus Bucardo, Barbara Gerbert, Peter Lurie, EugeneWashington, andthe Prevention Sciences 6roup peer review seminar.
Academic Emergency Medicine Seerelated article, page 94Z
More than 20 years ago the visionaries of our specialty realized that the credence of emergency medicine and its evolution would lie in the establishment of graduate training programs and the possession of a major role within colleges of medicine. These two important endeavors would stimulate the creation of standards for training and credentialing, would lead to continuing medical educational efforts, and would stimulate the propagation of new and improved research methodologies. Their wisdom was profound, and the proof of their visions materialize as we review academic emergency medicine today. The article in this issue of Annals, "Academic Emergency Medicine: A National Profile With and Without Emergency Medicine Residency P r o g r a m s , " by Chernow et al demonstrates the effect emergency medicine has, and will continue to have, on academic medical centers. Comparing major university hospitals, with the variable being the existence of an emergency medicine residency program, reveals much in the area of clinical care and education. The establishment of an emergency medicine residency p r o g r a m in an academic medical center, according to the authors, significantly enhances the emergency department faculty attending coverage. This expanded coverage equates to more faculty in emergency medicine available for the training programs, thus also augmenting the research effort, as evidenced by the increased number of publications in programs with emergency medicine residencies. The quality of the faculty also is magnified, with more board-certified emergency physicians found in academic centers with residency programs. Recruitment becomes easier, housestaff curriculum is improved, and medical students' rotation and educational conferenc~es exist in greater numbers. These facts may lead us to u n d e r s t a n d why more than 40% of the programs without residencies were actively planning a program, and an additional 40% were considering future development of an emergency medicine residency program. We are at the stage of m a t u r a t i o n in our specialty where physician credentialing for b o a r d certification requires successful completion of an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved emergency medicine residency program. There are presently 93 approved residency programs with a prediction for 100 programs by match time 1993. Chernow's article predicts that major teaching hospitals are now claiming that close to 30 new residency programs are being actively planned, with an equal n u m b e r to be created in the future. It is not unreasonable to assume that the t u r n of the century will see more than 140 emergency medicine residency programs in place.
AUGUST1992
21:8 ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
The effect such enhancement of academic growth is obvious, as has been presented in this article and by others. Robert Petersdorf, in his address to the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, during his Kennedy Lecture in May 1991, noted the success of emergency medicine and admonished us to enhance our academic pursuits, but stated that within a single physician generation, "you've come a long way baby."l Academic attendings in the ED, more q/~alified clinicians practicing emergency medicine, enhanced educational programs, reasonable clinical hours for honsestaff, improved conferences and medical student education in emergency medicine, and increased research productivity are desirable accomplishments in the pursuit of academic excellence. It appears that having an emergency medicine residency in an academic institution is the variable to achieve these successes. This article, along with others that relate the academic work style of emergency physicians, demonstrates the fact that attrition among academic emergency physicians is relatively low. 2,3 These facts serve as evidence of the stability of emergency medicine, as well as a p r e d i c t o r for continued positive academic growth. Stability of a specialty and the enhancement of quality education, research and patient care are the p a r a m e t e r s of excellence any medical system must strive to achieve. The specialty of emergency medicine must support the advancement of emergency medicine in academic institutions. This includes the development of residency programs, the establishment of academic departments of emergency medicine, and funding the research efforts of emergency medicine faculty. We should demand that our teaching hospitals provide excellence in emergency medical care and training. Our hope has been that the specialty of emergency medicine will survive, evolve, and meet its needs through academic emergency medicine. The article by Chernow et al gives us evidence of that fact and will serve as a monitomng tool to gauge the effectiveness of the academic emergency medicine base. I laud the authors for their work and encourage them to continue these pursuits and further study the development of academic emergency medicine over the years. Harvey W Meislin, MD, FACEP Sectionof EmergencyMedicine University of ArizonaHealthSciencesCenter EmergencyMedicineResearchCenter Tucson 1. Petersdorf RG:The place of emergencymedicinein the academic community.Ann
EmergMed1992;21:193-200. 2. Hair KN, Wakeman MA, LevyRC, et al: Factors associatedwith career longevity in residency-trained emergencyphysicians.AnnEmergMed1992;21:291-297. 3. Meislin HW, Spaite DW, ValenzuelaTD: Meeting the goals of academia: Characteristics of emergencymedicinefaculty academic work styles. AnnEmergMed 1992;21:299-302.
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