Editorial 149
The changing face of emergency medicine Colin A. Graham European Journal of Emergency Medicine 2015, 22:149 Editor-in-Chief, European Journal of Emergency Medicine. Chinese University of Hong Kong
Those of us who work in emergency care are well accustomed to nonstop change, whether it is the emergency department over the course of a shift, the politician’s latest decree on emergency care, or the manager’s latest ‘technique’ to shorten waiting times for patients in the ED. Change frequently appears in the form of new staff, and colleagues move on to new pastures. Although change is never easy, it is inevitable. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, highlighted this around 500 BC with his statements on ever-flowing rivers, which is often paraphrased in the modern world to ‘the only constant in life is change’. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Heraclitus was known as the weeping philosopher, with pictures often depicting him wringing his hands in despair. Although we have our bad days in emergency care, there is good reason for optimism.
Correspondence to Colin A. Graham, Editor-in-Chief, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong E-mail: [email protected]
will lead to increased exposure by the media of the challenges of emergency care, which may influence future governments to give higher priority to the provision of high-quality emergency healthcare. The European Society for Emergency Medicine and national emergency medicine societies have important roles to play in informing political parties and governments of the unique characteristics and needs of effective universal emergency care [6,7]. We encourage you to attend the 9th European Congress on Emergency Medicine (http://www.eusem2015.org) in Torino, Italy, from 10 to 14 October 2015, the premier European education and research event for all members of the emergency care team. The call for abstracts is now open, and your submissions must meet the minimum research ethics standards to be considered [8–10].
In the northern hemisphere, the so-called winter surge is nearing an end, with the number of acute respiratory infections steadily decreasing in most countries. The lack of an effective influenza vaccine this winter did lead to increased demands on the emergency departments and prehospital care systems, but hopefully the next vaccine will perform better [1–5].
Although change often brings discomfort, it almost always leads to progress – let us hope that the inevitable changes in 2015 will lead to improvements in the provision of emergency care throughout Europe.
Emergency care systems are at the core of modern healthcare, and our primary role has always been to provide high-quality care to patients regardless of when they need our help or what they present with. The reality though is that we are not resourced to achieve these lofty goals, and this inevitably leads to tension between patients, healthcare workers, and politicians. Change is a fact of life for politicians too, and elections in many European countries in 2015, including the UK, will see emergency care playing a major role in the policy debates between various parties.
There are no conflicts of interest.
The fact remains that patients use prehospital emergency care and hospital emergency departments as a solution to their demands for out-of-hours healthcare, regardless of the actual seriousness of their condition. The elections
0969-9546 Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgements Conflicts of interest
References 1 2 3 4
Graham CA. Progress in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:303. Graham CA. Carpe diem. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:71. Graham CA. A new year, a new beginning. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:1. Graham CA. The future of emergency medicine is education. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:1. 5 Graham CA. The annual winter surge – why are we so surprised? Eur J Emerg Med 2015; 22:71. 6 Graham CA. Coming together to advance the specialty of emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:393. 7 Sabbe MB, Graham CA. The European Society for Emergency Medicine is 20 years old. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:323. 8 Miro O, Burillo-Putze G. Research in emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2012; 19:63–68. 9 Graham CA. Ethics in emergency medicine conferences. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:313. 10 Graham CA. Progress and publication ethics. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:243.
DOI: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000276
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of the article is prohibited.
The changing face of emergency medicine Colin A. Graham European Journal of Emergency Medicine 2015, 22:149 Editor-in-Chief, European Journal of Emergency Medicine. Chinese University of Hong Kong
Those of us who work in emergency care are well accustomed to nonstop change, whether it is the emergency department over the course of a shift, the politician’s latest decree on emergency care, or the manager’s latest ‘technique’ to shorten waiting times for patients in the ED. Change frequently appears in the form of new staff, and colleagues move on to new pastures. Although change is never easy, it is inevitable. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, highlighted this around 500 BC with his statements on ever-flowing rivers, which is often paraphrased in the modern world to ‘the only constant in life is change’. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Heraclitus was known as the weeping philosopher, with pictures often depicting him wringing his hands in despair. Although we have our bad days in emergency care, there is good reason for optimism.
Correspondence to Colin A. Graham, Editor-in-Chief, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong E-mail: [email protected]
will lead to increased exposure by the media of the challenges of emergency care, which may influence future governments to give higher priority to the provision of high-quality emergency healthcare. The European Society for Emergency Medicine and national emergency medicine societies have important roles to play in informing political parties and governments of the unique characteristics and needs of effective universal emergency care [6,7]. We encourage you to attend the 9th European Congress on Emergency Medicine (http://www.eusem2015.org) in Torino, Italy, from 10 to 14 October 2015, the premier European education and research event for all members of the emergency care team. The call for abstracts is now open, and your submissions must meet the minimum research ethics standards to be considered [8–10].
In the northern hemisphere, the so-called winter surge is nearing an end, with the number of acute respiratory infections steadily decreasing in most countries. The lack of an effective influenza vaccine this winter did lead to increased demands on the emergency departments and prehospital care systems, but hopefully the next vaccine will perform better [1–5].
Although change often brings discomfort, it almost always leads to progress – let us hope that the inevitable changes in 2015 will lead to improvements in the provision of emergency care throughout Europe.
Emergency care systems are at the core of modern healthcare, and our primary role has always been to provide high-quality care to patients regardless of when they need our help or what they present with. The reality though is that we are not resourced to achieve these lofty goals, and this inevitably leads to tension between patients, healthcare workers, and politicians. Change is a fact of life for politicians too, and elections in many European countries in 2015, including the UK, will see emergency care playing a major role in the policy debates between various parties.
There are no conflicts of interest.
The fact remains that patients use prehospital emergency care and hospital emergency departments as a solution to their demands for out-of-hours healthcare, regardless of the actual seriousness of their condition. The elections
0969-9546 Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgements Conflicts of interest
References 1 2 3 4
Graham CA. Progress in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:303. Graham CA. Carpe diem. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:71. Graham CA. A new year, a new beginning. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:1. Graham CA. The future of emergency medicine is education. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:1. 5 Graham CA. The annual winter surge – why are we so surprised? Eur J Emerg Med 2015; 22:71. 6 Graham CA. Coming together to advance the specialty of emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:393. 7 Sabbe MB, Graham CA. The European Society for Emergency Medicine is 20 years old. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:323. 8 Miro O, Burillo-Putze G. Research in emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2012; 19:63–68. 9 Graham CA. Ethics in emergency medicine conferences. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:313. 10 Graham CA. Progress and publication ethics. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:243.
DOI: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000276
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of the article is prohibited.
