Is emergency medicine for me?

What it feels like

The pace is the first thing you’ll notice. There’s always another patient, and the board never empties. Shift work means you’ll do days, evenings, nights and weekends, often in the same week.

The hardest part for most juniors is deciding who can go home. On the ward, someone else made that call. Here, you’ll make it many times a shift, with a senior’s help.

The best part is that you can make a real difference in an hour: the pain that settles, the diagnosis that’s caught, the patient who leaves reassured. Your coffee will go cold at least once a shift. That’s normal.

What you’ll take away, whatever you choose

Whatever you do next, the ED teaches skills you’ll use for the rest of your career: assessing someone fast, deciding what matters, talking to strangers at their worst, and referring well.

How emergency medicine training works

Training with the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) to become a Fellow (FACEM) takes at least five years full time. ACEM also runs foundational, intermediate and advanced emergency medicine programs for doctors who want ED skills without becoming specialists. Rural generalists can also train in emergency medicine through the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine’s (ACRRM) Emergency Medicine Advanced Specialised Training.

Signs you’ve found your feet

• You pick up the next patient without scanning the board for an easy one.
• You present with a plan, and your senior mostly agrees with it.
• You know who to call for what.
• Your handovers are short, and nothing comes back to you.

Starting your term? Read the emergency medicine survival guide first.