- Four years of undergraduate education
- Four years of medical school
- Three to four years of emergency medicine residency training
- Depending on the state or organization, emergency medicine physicians may also need to obtain board certification from the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM).
Here is a more detailed breakdown of the education pathway for emergency medicine:
- Undergraduate education:
- You will need to earn a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
- Common undergraduate majors for emergency medicine include biology, chemistry, or other science-related fields.
- Medical school:
- After completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to attend medical school for four years.
- In medical school, you will study a variety of topics, including anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology.
- Emergency medicine residency:
- After graduating from medical school, you will need to complete a three to four-year residency in emergency medicine.
- During your residency, you will work in a hospital emergency department and gain experience treating a wide variety of patients.
- Some residency programs also offer additional training in areas such as pediatrics, trauma, or critical care.
After completing your residency, you will be eligible to practice emergency medicine in the United States. Some emergency medicine physicians also choose to pursue additional training in a fellowship program, which can provide specialized training in a specific area of emergency medicine, such as pediatric emergency medicine or sports medicine.
In addition to formal education, emergency medicine physicians must also stay up-to-date on the latest medical advances. This is typically done through continuing medical education (CME) courses, which can be taken online or in person.