Emergency Medicine Physicians: Career Profile
Make immediate medical decisions and act to prevent death or further disability. Provide immediate recognition, evaluation, care, stabilization, and disposition of patients. May direct emergency medical staff in an emergency department.
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What Do Emergency Medicine Physicians Do?
The day-to-day responsibilities of emergency medicine physicians include:
- Select, request, perform, or interpret diagnostic procedures, such as laboratory tests, electrocardiograms, emergency ultrasounds, and radiographs.
- Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs and priority of treatment.
- Perform emergency resuscitations on patients.
- Stabilize patients in critical condition.
- Perform such medical procedures as emergent cricothyrotomy, endotracheal intubation, and emergency thoracotomy.
- Analyze records, examination information, or test results to diagnose medical conditions.
- Consult with hospitalists and other professionals, such as social workers, regarding patients' hospital admission, continued observation, transition of care, or discharge.
- Conduct primary patient assessments that include information from prior medical care.
What Emergency Medicine Physicians Need to Know
Top emergency medicine physicians combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Other Emergency Medicine Physicians Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Attending Emergency Physician
- Attending Physician
- Critical Care Intensivist
- Critical Care Intensivist Physician
- Critical Care Physician
- Disaster Medicine Physician
- ER Doctor (Emergency Room Doctor)
- ER Physician (Emergency Room Physician)
Employment and Demand
The U.S. employs around 2,333,594 emergency medicine physicians working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to decline by -2.4% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Emergency Medicine Physicians
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $59,902 |
| Hourly median | $28.80 |
| 10th percentile | $39,580 |
| 25th percentile | $49,741 |
| 75th percentile | $70,062 |
| 90th percentile | $80,223 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Emergency Medicine Physicians Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Kentucky | $239,100 |
| Oklahoma | $178,900 |
| Alaska | $168,040 |
| California | $158,100 |
| Georgia | $139,990 |
| Utah | $137,530 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for emergency medicine physicians shift depending on where you work. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast | $80,646 | 24.7% | 2.06 |
| Far Western US | $23,415 | 4.5% | 2.03 |
| Southwest | $20,642 | 4.8% | 0.84 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $220,570 | 350 |
| Syracuse, NY | NY | $203,470 | 100 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $178,900 | 80 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $172,640 | 50 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | UT | $142,560 | |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | GA | $139,990 | 2,760 |
| Rochester, NY | NY | $72,690 | 140 |
Industry Breakdown
The largest employers of emergency medicine physicians are concentrated in the following sectors:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 32,250 | n/a |
| Educational Services | 590 | $73,250 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 410 | n/a |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 210 | n/a |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software Emergency Medicine Physicians Use
- Medical software: Epic Systems (hot technology)
- Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
Work Environment
The on-the-job environment of emergency medicine physicians is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Exposed to Disease or Infections
- Contact With Others
- Telephone Conversations
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
How to Become Emergency Medicine Physicians
This occupation sits in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Physician Assistants (Primary-Short)
- Registered Nurses (Supplemental)
- Acute Care Nurses (Supplemental)
- Critical Care Nurses (Supplemental)
- Clinical Nurse Specialists (Supplemental)
- Nurse Practitioners (Supplemental)
- Anesthesiologists (Primary-Long)
- Cardiologists (Supplemental)
Where to Study
Future emergency medicine physicians often complete programs in:
Health Professions and Related Programs
2 programs across 1 majors
About the Data
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 29-1214.00 (Emergency Medicine Physicians).
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