Why Emergency Medicine Board Certification Makes Sense for Career Emergency Physicians
Physicians who have extensive experience working in emergency departments have an opportunity to earn their board certification in Emergency Medicine from the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS). In many cases, career EM physicians are board certified in a primary care field, which doesn’t necessarily speak to their substantial experience and expertise working in the emergency department. This is one of the reasons that these professionals should be encouraged to pursue board certification in Emergency Medicine from ABPS by hospitals and emergency practice management groups. If you have satisfactorily completed an accredited primary care residency and have practiced emergency medicine on a full-time basis for five years or more (while accumulating 7,000 hours in the practice of Emergency Medicine), board certification is an obtainable goal.
So why should a physician who is already board certified consider pursuing recognition for their work in emergency departments? Here are a few reasons:
- Board certification provides increased credibility to the physician in the eyes of hospital administration by showcasing their mastery of the subject
- Increasingly, medical staffing professionals are prioritizing hiring emergency medicine-certified physicians for positions in emergency departments
- There are numerous insurance incentives for staffing EM physicians
- The steps toward earning certification are rigorous, which requires the physician to work and study hard, improving their level of care and mastery of their field in the process
- On a personal level, board certification provides a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment to the Diplomate
Emergency Medicine Certification With No Additional Residency
The biggest hurdle that prevents many physicians from pursuing EM board certification is the belief that they won’t be eligible without completing an additional residency. Yet, with the ABPS, we believe that physicians who have previously completed a residency and have made a career working in an emergency department deserve to be tested in Emergency Medicine. We offer an excellent option toward board certification for motivated physicians who want to demonstrate to their patients and employers that they’re at the top of their field. It’s for these reasons and more that qualified physicians should be encouraged to pursue EM certification with the ABPS.
Eligibility Requirements for BCEM Certification
To qualify for board certification in emergency medicine through the BCEM, a physician must first meet the general requirements set by the ABPS. These requirements include graduating from an accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical college in the U.S. or Canada and holding a valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States, its territories, or Canada.
Specific eligibility criteria set by the BCEM include:
- Completing an ACGME, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC-accredited residency in emergency medicine, or
- Completing an ACGME, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC-accredited residency in one of the primary care specialties—family practice, internal medicine, pediatric medicine, or general surgery—with at least 5 years and 7,000 hours of full-time emergency medicine experience, or
- Completing an accredited residency in one of the aforementioned primary care specialties followed by a 12- or 24-month emergency medicine fellowship approved by the AAEP.
To obtain BCEM certification, candidates from all three pathways are required to pass both a written and an oral exam. The computer-based written exam comprises 325 multiple-choice questions, and candidates must successfully complete this before proceeding to the oral exam.
For more information about the certification process and various eligibility requirements, contact us today.