Emergency Medicine FAQs
What does your specialty involve?
How do I get into your specialty?
How do I make myself competitive at Foundation and/or Core Training to get into your specialty?
What personal attributes do I need for your specialty?
How competitive is it to get a training post?
How long is the training after FY2 to CCT?
What postgraduate examinations will I need to work for during training?
Do I need to pass any postgraduate examinations at Core level to get into "run-through"?
Is your specialty stressful?
What are the best and worst aspects of your specialty?
I would like to have a family - is that possible while training in this specialty?
Is there any chance of Less Than Full Time Training in your specialty?
Is full time research mandatory duting training?
Are the hours anti-social?
What tips can you give on starting and advancing in your specialty?
What are the chances of a Consultant post after CCT?
What is the dropout rate during training?
Can I spend some of my time training abroad?
Can I work part time or job share as a Consultant?
Where can I get the best information about your specialty and the training programme locally and nationally?
What does your specialty involve?
Emergency Medicine (EM) is an exciting developing speciality involving the resuscitation, acute management and diagnosis of patients presenting to Emergency Departments. The involvement with many other areas in the healthcare system makes EM a very social job. EM provides a great deal of open access to unscheduled care out of hours. This is a unique commitment in our region which is highly valued by the public who continue to demonstrate the popularity of the service.
Many patients are ambulatory with less severe illness or minor injuries. The core elements of our service also involve short term observation and out-patient treatment of patients in many departments. This allows for close co-operation and planning with most of the other teams in the hospital.
We have a large commitment to teaching training audit and research which is a stimulating part of our job involving medical nursing and paramedical workers within the unscheduled care system. Our role also involves working as part of the pre-hospital and in-hospital team effectively to provide high quality care for patients. Management and organisational duties become a significant part of our role in leading the service.
Other interesting roles are disaster planning (major incident plans) and work on community issues such as accident prevention or with problems such as alcohol abuse.
Read ‘The Way Ahead’ by the College of Emergency Medicine to learn more:
How do I get into your specialty?
Entry to the speciality is via an acute care common stem core training programme which involves 2 years of training in emergency medicine, acute medicine anaesthetics and intensive care medicine (ACCS programme). The first 2 years of training are followed by a third year which includes experience in paediatrics and musculoskeletal prior to competitive application for entry into ST4. Training is a 6 year programme.
There are currently six of these jobs per year and you may apply after completing your foundation training. It is extremely important to consider the up to date personal specification which is used to describe the essential and desirable criteria for the job.
In the event of not being successful on the first attempt a fixed term a core training job (FTCTA) in Emergency medicine or one of the other ACCS specialties would be valuable experience prior to reapplication.
If one was a foundation trainee an FTSTA in Emergency medicine would gain excellent experience and during that year the first part of the membership of the college of emergency medicine (MCEM) could be attempted. [back to top]
How do I make myself competitive after foundation or fixed term core training to get into your specialty?
As soon as you are considering a career in EM it is recommended you speak to Consultants in EM in your hospital and the Head of the school of EM in your region.
Successful completion of foundation training forms the basis for application. Although experience in ACCS specialties during foundation training is desirable it is not considered a requirement for entry into training
To make yourself competitive an early commitment to the specialty is desirable and demonstration of this with completion of advanced life support courses, audit in relevant areas and completion of the MCEM A would be advantageous.
Appropiate advanced life support courses would be ALS, ATLS and APLS
The MCEM A can be applied for as soon as full registration is obtained (completion of F1). Details can be obtained on the College of Emergency Medicine website. [back to top]
What personal attributes do I need for your specialty?
An enthusiasm for emergency medicine and an aptitude for team working are essential.
Good communication skills are vital and emergency medicine trainees have to learn to deal with both sick patients and anxious staff in both the emergency department and other teams
An enthusiasm to deal with a wide variety of problems both clinical and managerial is necessary.
You will also have to be keen to learn about research, audit and be involved in training and teaching both junior doctors and many of the other team members you work with. [back to top]
How competitive is it to get into a training post?
Entry into training is highly competitive and currently there are six posts per year available for the 3 year core training program the first 2 years of this comprising the ACCS rotation.
At the end of these 3 years it will be necessary to apply for higher training in emergency medicine years 4-6. This is a competitive process and maintaining a high standard in assessments and demonstrating good progression in the first 3 years will be required. It is necessary to have completed the MCEM exam by this stage. [back to top]
How long is the training after FY2 to CCT?
If training is successfully completed as above this would require a total of six years. [back to top]
What Postgraduate exams will i need to work for during training?
The MCEM (Membership of the College of Emergency Medicine) and later towards the end of training the FCEM (Fellowship of the College of Emergency Medicine). Elligibility curricullum and details should be clarified on the College website if considering the MCEM (www.collemergencymed.ac.uk). [back to top]
What postgraduate exams must I pass during core training?
It is necessary to pass MCEM C before completing core training. This is an essential requirement in applying for higher training. [back to top]
Is your specialty stressful?
Yes it can be sometimes. The excitement and team work involved in the job are at the same time rewarding features of the working environment. [back to top]
What are the best and worst aspects of your specialty?
The constant challenge of meeting new patients and solving different sometimes exciting and fascinating clinical problems is very attractive. Very few of us ever get bored! The difficult side of a job such as this is the lack of control over the number of patients presenting. It is a system where you may be the only walk in service. The amount of work you may have to undertake varies so a pragmatic approach is required. The requirement to work out of hours needs to be recognised. [back to top]
I would like to have a family – is It possible while training in this specialty?
It is perfectly possible to have a family while training and this subject should be discussed with colleagues who have done this for full insight into the complex issues involved. [back to top]
Is there any chance of less than full time training in your specialty?
Yes but careful discussion with the Head of school and the Postgraduate Dean are required to co-ordinate this and each case would have to be individually assessed. See the advice regarding eligibility and application from NIMDTA.
Is full time research mandatory during training?
Full time research is not mandatory but understanding of research. Literature searching and critical appraisal of research is part of higher training and is examined in the FCEM. [back to top]
Are the hours anti-social?
Emergency Medicine rotas are considered anti-social in terms of the number of shifts out of hours but the total number of hours is relatively low compared to some specialities. An acceptance of full shift work out of hours is required before applying for emergency medicine training.
Talk to trainees, consultants and the training programme directors (Head of School, or Deputy Head of School) about your interest in Emergency Medicine if you have concerns. [back to top]
What tips can you give on starting and advancing in your specialty?
As soon as you are considering a career in EM it is recommended you speak to Consultants in EM in your hospital and the Head or Deputy Head of the school of EM in your region.
Successful completion of foundation training forms the basis for application. Although experience in ACCS specialties during foundation training is desirable it is not considered a requirement for entry into training
To make yourself competitive an early commitment to the specialty is desirable and demonstration of this with completion of advanced life support courses, audit in relevant areas and completion of the MCEM A would be advantageous.
Appropiate advanced life support courses would be ALS, ATLS and APLS
The MCEM A can be applied for as soon as full registration is obtained (completion of F1). Details can be obtained on the College of Emergency Medicine website. [back to top]
What are the chances of a Consultant post after CCT?
There is a reasonable chance of being appointed as a Consultant in Emergency Medicine after successfully completing specialty training. It is difficult to guarantee a job in Northern Ireland but this is a developing situation and depends on manpower planning to some extent. [back to top]
What is the dropout rate during training?
The drop out rate during training is very low and most trainees are highly enthusiastic about their specialty. [back to top]
Can I spend some of my time training abroad?
Working abroad is possible as out of program training (OOP) in special situations particularly if training not available locally was being sought. This would require discussion with the Head of School and Postgraduate Dean. Posts would have to be recognised for training from the College of Emergency Medicine or the equivalent college wherever training was undertaken. [back to top]
Can I work part time or job share as a Consultant?
There is the potential to work part time or job share as a consultant. This is obviousy something to consider in more detail towards the end of training. [back to top]
Where can I get the best information about your specialty?
The best information about emergency medicine can be obtained on the excellent college website http://www.collemergencymed.ac.uk/ and the ACCS website www.accsuk.org.uk.
Contact the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA) http://www.nimdta.gov.uk/ for advice regarding the training programme in N.Ireland. If you want a discussion about a career in Emergency medicine arrange to meet one of the heads of school.