Emergency physicians provide care and make treatment decisions based on real time evaluation of patients’ history, physical findings and many diagnostic studies, including the interpretation of electrocardiographs, imaging studies and laboratory tests. Emergency physicians possess a wide range of skills to treat injuries and illnesses and perform many interventions including but not limited to resuscitative procedures and trauma stabilization in patients of all ages.

It is the role and responsibility of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) and the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM) to set and approve the training standards, assess competency through board certification processes and establish professional practice principles for emergency physicians.

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ATLS, ACLS, APLS…will alphabet soup never end?

Short courses, such as ATLS, BLS, ACLS, APLS, ADLS, and PALS are still required by some institutions for hospital privileges.

Perhaps as a vestige of earlier days before emergency medicine was a recognized specialty, these courses were probably required in attempts to improve emergency care. However, little data exists regarding the merits of standalone courses in relation to patient outcomes. Several studies have demonstrated improved outcomes when using ATLS or ACLS interventions, but these studies were not conducted among board-certified emergency physicians.

One recent study demonstrated worse outcomes among trauma patients who were treated by ATLS certified physicians, compared to physicians not ATLS certified.

A study performed by EP Monthly in 2010 surveyed 769 emergency physicians and demonstrated that 85% of respondents did not feel that BLS improved care by an EP, and 69% felt that ACLS did not improve care by an EP.

The Model of the Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine (EM Model), developed by emergency physicians, serves as the basis for ABEM content examinations, and the core content for training in Emergency Medicine. This document is updated every two years by experts from ABEM, ACEP, CORD, EMRA, RRC-EM, and SAEM.

As stated in the preamble, The EM Model is designed for use as the core document for the specialty. It will provide the foundation for developing future medical school and residency curricula, certification examination specifications, continuing education objectives, research agendas, residency program review requirements, and other documents necessary for the functional operation of the specialty.

The EM Model, a 45-page document, includes priority content in areas covered by short courses. For example, there are 10 sections of Cardiovascular Disorders, including Cardiopulmonary Arrest, Disturbances of Cardiac Rhythm, including critical, emergent, and lower acuity physician tasks. There are three sections of Traumatic Disorders, including detailed descriptions of anatomic trauma and management priorities.