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Are Your Hospital’s Emergency Physicians Board Certified in Emergency Medicine?

Emergency Physicians BCEM

At the Board of Certification in Emergency Medicine – a Member Board of the American Board of Physician Specialties® – we strongly encourage physicians who have made their careers working in the emergency room to consider pursuing board certification. Increasingly, employers, insurers, and other decision-makers are prioritizing – if not outright mandating – the hiring of board-certified physicians, which is why it’s so important to make the commitment to earning this distinction. Additionally, prospective patients know that board certification is a trusted indicator that a physician is a recognized expert in the field of emergency medicine. If a competing hospital is staffed by board-certified physicians and yours is not, patients will take notice.

Primary Care Physicians Have Become Vital to Emergency Departments

Yet, one of the problems that many hospitals – particularly rural hospitals – run into is that their emergency rooms are staffed by the available physicians, not necessarily those who have formal residency training in emergency medicine. Often, family physicians and other primary care providers step up to fill the need of the community and work in the ER, even though that wasn’t originally their intended career plan. The issue that these highly experienced physicians can run into, though, is that they aren’t technically eligible to pursue board certification in Emergency Medicine because they didn’t complete residency training in the field.

BCEM Offers Certification to Physicians Working in Emergency Medicine

At the BCEM, we offer qualified physicians working in ERs the chance to become board certified in emergency medicine. To be eligible to apply for initial board certification with the BCEM, an applicant must first satisfy the general requirements of the ABPS. These include:

  • Graduation from a recognized U.S. or Canadian allopathic or osteopathic college of medicine.
  • Holding a valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States, its territories, or Canada.

The BCEM has its own eligibility requirements for primary care physicians. These include:

  • Completion of an ACGME, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC residency in one of the following primary care specialties—family practice, internal medicine, pediatric medicine, or general surgery—and at least five years of full-time emergency medicine experience
  • Completion of an ACGME, AOA, RCPSC, or CFPC residency in one of the following primary care specialties—family practice, internal medicine, pediatric medicine, or general surgery—and a 12- or 24-month emergency medicine fellowship approved by the BCEM.

You can find a list of BCEM-approved fellowships here.

To earn BCEM certification, candidates in both pathways must pass both a written and oral examination. The computer-based written exam consists of 325 multiple-choice questions. Candidates must pass the written exam to take the oral component.

Learn How BCEM Certification Can Benefit Your Healthcare Organization

So, ask yourself, are the physicians who work in your ER board certified in emergency medicine? If not, it’s important to know that they have options through the BCEM. To learn more about our organization the eligibility requirements to apply, and the benefits to board certification, contact us today.

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Patient Care Is Our Priority

Medical organizations throughout North America understand that our rigorous certification standards prove that ABPS Diplomates are capable of delivering the best patient care possible.

Far too often, medicine is led by less than 5% of non-practicing physicians taking away and replacing the voice of the 95% of physicians practicing and placing patient safety and care first on the front lines every day. The American Board of Physician Specialties has raised the standards in physician board certification not only in the quality of their boards of certification, but in hearing and allowing for the voice of those active physicians caring directly for patients. Having been a part of the ABPS over the last 28 years has allowed me to grow as a woman leader in a field often wrought with challenges. It helped me and others raise the bar of the standards of care in my specialty, Emergency Medicine, through their Board Certification in Emergency Medicine (BCEM). ABPS also helped raise the standards of care for 21st century medicine through their certifications in other specialties, particularly in Integrative Medicine & Disaster Medicine. Having physician voices heard matters to medicine and is essential in the betterment of patient safety and care.

Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Emergency Medicine
On October 18, 2007, President George W. Bush released Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21), calling on our nation, among other initiatives, to “collectively support and facilitate the establishment of a discipline of disaster health”. It is a great testament to the wisdom and foresight of the American Board of Physician Specialties that it immediately set to work and created, within the short span of only one year, an educational blueprint and set of certification examinations, both written and oral, for a new subspecialty of disaster medicine—and it is why I chose to be part this vital initiative and this wonderful organization. This is but one of the many innovative programs initiated by the American Board of Physician Specialties over the years, and why I am proud to support its work on behalf of our nation’s public health.

Art Cooper, MD
Disaster Medicine
When the American Board of Physician Specialties offered to host the American Board of Integrative Medicine, ABPS became a landmark organization working to move medicine into the twenty first century. Certifying physicians who have completed rigorous academic training in Integrative Medicine ensures that the field of Integrative Medicine will continue to develop academically, clinically, and professionally. The leadership of ABPS continues to impress me - they are diligent in constantly innovating to provide certifications for physicians who want to advance their careers and their areas of expertise. I am honored to be a part of this organization.

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD
Integrative Medicine
There are many ways board certification advances a physician career. ABPS Board examination verifies your accuracy, precision, and reflects your mastery of your residency training verifying your expertise. ABPS Board certification demonstrates your level of expertise beyond your practice experience, primary education degrees, and training which are necessary for insurance reimbursement and practice privilege requirements. Attaining your ABPS Board Certification will clarify your purpose, secure your practice growth, and expand into leadership positions. Board certification can serve as an indication of a physician’s commitment to medicine, beyond the minimal standards and competency of training, their measurement to quality of care, and attaining an award for excellence.

Chris Kunis MD
Internal Medicine
When I think historically, advancement in medicine and patient safety and care has been driven by the diversity of people and scientific thought. That’s what I found at the ABPS and more. For over 60 years that is just who we are. I found a physician certifying body that provides a choice and voice to all physicians ensuring that patients are always placed first.

Jerry Allison, MD
Emergency Medicine
When I decided to pursue a full time role as a physician executive it was important to me to obtain additional professional training, education and work experience. Board certification through the ABPS in Administrative Medicine is validation of my efforts and a demonstration of dedication to professional development. We need more physicians to become full time health care executives, knowing there is a board certification option in Administrative Medicine encourages physicians to take the leap from full time clinical practice to healthcare organizational leadership.

Richard Paula, MD
Administrative Medicine
The American Board of Physician Specialties has provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of internal medicine through board certification. As a hospitalist, board certification is an expected credential, and hospitals recognize the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) as one of the three standard credentialling bodies for Internal Medicine. Additionally, the ABPS has helped me develop leadership skills as a Board member and Committee Chairperson. ABPS has also helped me sharpen critical thinking skills as a test question developer and reviewer. The Allopathic (MD) and Osteopathic (DO) physicians in the ABPS are lifelong learners and frequently pursue multiple board certifications. I enjoy the camaraderie of my peers in ABPS.

Loren Jay Chassels, DO
Internal Medicine
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