What is emergency medicine ?
Emergency medicine is a branch of medicine that in a narrow sense deals with acute assistance to critically ill patients and more broadly with all also less urgent first aid.
The place where the care is provided is usually the emergency department (ED) of a hospital, but sometimes required in other places where prompt medical treatment of trauma or disease, eg. In a first aid station at events or on location a trauma where the care by ambulance or Mobile Medical Team (ambulance) have been transported.
Critically ill patients
In a critically ill patient, there is a threat of respiration, circulation, consciousness, temperature regulation, and / or there is severe pain. These vital threat can be caused by exposure to "outside" as an accident or trauma (eg, burning or drowning), or "inside" of a disease (ranging from blood poisoning, pneumonia, stroke, poisoning to postpartum haemorrhage) which directly or can indirectly lead to serious consequences or even death of the patient.
The sooner the adequate specialist treatment commences the critically ill patient, the more limited the impact will be often. The complexity and diversity of the pathology presented, coupled with the pressure of time to minimize the impact requires extensive specialist medical knowledge and expertise in the area of the critically ill patient. Doctors specializing in emergency medicine should do the initial care of critically ill patients. A common method for this is the so-called abcde methodology.
If, after the initial patient still vital functions still needs support in its vital functions, care in the intensive care should be continued. The intensive care medicine and anesthesiology have within the medical specialties the most experience in safeguarding the vital functions. The intensivist (which often also to anesthesiologist trained) has daily responsibility for the control, monitoring, support and, if necessary, take over vital functions. Securing the airway and breathing, monitoring and controlling the circulation, controlling body temperature and giving adequate pain relief are among the most important tasks of an intensivist.
Other emergency
At the emergency department are all seen patients who present with or without a referral from the family doctor with a complaint. Often patients who are sent by their GP immediately seen by the appropriate medical specialist. The doctors specialized in emergency medicine focus primarily on patients with no reference (called "self-referrals"). Evident in less urgent cases, a patient is often still referred to their GP or GP (in the evening, night or weekends). In other cases, emergency medicine, the doctor will try to reach a diagnosis and treatment, which if necessary can be enlisted the help of other medical specialists. The emergency medicine offers no care or long-term monitoring. If necessary, patients are referred previously to the GP, or if necessary, to the outpatient clinic of the medical specialties of the hospital.
Emergency physician Royal Dutch Medical Association
The Royal Dutch Society for the Advancement of Medicine (Royal Dutch Medical Association) has recognized the emergency medicine training. This training takes 3 years, with plans to extend in the future to 5 years. This training takes place primarily on an emergency department with competence training with internships in intensive care, anesthesiology, cardiology, pediatrics and ambulance provision. After completing the training will receive the doctor called "emergency physician Royal Dutch Medical Association." So the emergency room physician Royal Dutch Medical Association is no medical specialist, such as a surgeon or internist because this box is not registered with the Specialists' Registration Commission and a short training.