Definition of an Emergency Physician

Revised April 2023.

Reaffirmed April 2017

Originally approved June 2011

An emergency physician is defined as a physician who is certified (or eligible to be certified) by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) or the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM) or an equivalent international certifying body recognized by ABEM or AOBEM in emergency medicine or pediatric emergency medicine, or who is eligible for active membership in the American College of Emergency Physicians.

It should be noted that residents in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-approved or equivalent international accrediting body-approved residency in emergency medicine are “emergency medicine resident physicians.”