For an emergency physician, there is no โtypical day.โ The next patient could have appendicitis just as easily as a severe bone fracture. Life in the emergency room (ER)โmore commonly known as the emergency department (ED) among physiciansโis both unpredictable and fast-paced.
So if youโre thinking about becoming an emergency physician after medical school, itโs important to know there are a number of personal characteristics youโll need to excel.
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Becoming an emergency physician could be a good fit for you if โฆ
1. You have composure
Cases can vary substantially for doctors who are working in the ER, and they need to be able to rapidly refocus between cases to meet the unique needs of every patient. Dr. Jessica Best, an emergency physician and St. Georgeโs University (SGU) graduate, outlines a situation that requires a mindset shift immediately after seeing a patient who isnโt doing well.
โYou might have to counsel a family and then the next thing you have to do is discharge a patient that maybe was there with a sore throat or something that really wasnโt emergent,โ she offers.
As for how to maintain good bedside manner during such drastic transitions, it comes down to controlling both your mindset and your conduct. โEmergency physicians always need to have a fine level of composure,โ says Dr. Ninad Desai, an emergency medicine resident physician at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and SGU graduate. โYou need to be able to compartmentalize different tasks and information, and prioritize accordingly.โ
2. You work well with others
Research suggests that being team-oriented is one of the hallmark personality traits of emergency physicians. This makes sense when you consider how much collaboration the role entails.
โIn the emergency department, patient care involves an entire team, and everyone has to play a role to maximize patient care,โ Dr. Desai explains. โThe teamwork aspect is really important because you have to be able to communicate and delegate effectively.โ
While being a good team player requires that you listen to what other types of doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and additional team members have to say, it also means knowing when to speak up. Perhaps a coworker thinks a case is straightforward enough that no consultation is required, but you recognize itโs the best course of action.
โYou have to be a good patient advocate and also be willing to stick up for yourself,โ Dr. Best says.
โYou have to be a good patient advocate and also be willing to stick up for yourself.โ
3. Youโre great at multitasking
A busy emergency department can easily have more than 10 patients at any given time, all with varying needs. The physician running the floor needs to figure out a way to manage all those cases simultaneously. Dr. Desai likes to follow the advice he was once given by an attending.
โAlways see sick patients first, then discharges, then admissions, and then see new patients,โ he says. โThe reason why this struck me as important advice is itโs ensuring all the sick patients are taken care of, but also ensuring there is a smooth flow through the unit and that all other patients receive appropriate attention and care.โ
On the other hand, Dr. Best says that as soon as she knows someone can be discharged, she focuses on getting them on their way. She also notes that if sheโs about to perform a lengthy procedure, as long as it can wait for a bit, sheโll first take care of items like submitting orders to ensure everything keeps moving.
โI think itโs an art, and I think you have to work on it,โ Dr. Best offers. โIt doesnโt come naturally to a lot of people.โ
4. Youโre decisive
Minutes, sometimes even seconds, matter in the ED. This means that emergency physicians need to be able to evaluate situations and make decisions very rapidly.
โYou need to be able to say, โWhat resources am I going to need to use? And what is the likely disposition of this patient?โโ Dr. Best says. โThat needs to happen quickly so you can get that patient admitted, home, or transferred so you can move on to the next patient.โ
5. You love solving problems
Emergency medicine is all about leveraging a variety of resources to find out what a patient is experiencing. For Dr. Desai, thatโs one of the primary reasons why he selected emergency medicine as a specialty.
โEmergency medicine is fascinating,โ he says. โYou could have a person come to the ED with abdominal pain, and there are potentially 80 different things that could be wrong with them based on that symptom. It can range from something simple like a stomach flu to something more serious like appendicitis.โ
6. Youโre detail-oriented
As important as it is for emergency physicians to act swiftly, they also need to be thorough. This is particularly true when encountering a new patient for the first time.
โTake your time when youโre doing your initial assessment and history,โ Dr. Best advises.
Dr. Desai likes to enlist something tangible to guide the process. โIโve noticed that a checklist, whether itโs on the computer or paper, is helpful in being thorough because it forces you to be accountable for certain things,โ he explains.
7. Youโre a natural leader
Some emergency physicians eventually ascend to formal management roles within hospitals. Providing guidance and direction is clearly important for those individuals, but researchers note that emergency physicians in clinical practice provide another important form of emergency department leadership.
โEvery ED doctor is expected to rally the troops,โ Dr. Desai says. โThatโs just part of the job. You have to be vocal.โ
8. You crave a concrete schedule
For many emergency physicians, the unpredictable nature of their work is manageable in part because they know ahead of time when theyโre scheduled to be in the ED. โI definitely like the fact that itโs shift workโyou know when youโre going to go to work and you know when youโre going to come home from work,โ Dr. Best says.
So how can a student considering emergency medicine determine if itโs a good fit for them? Consider how a typical schedule of three to five shifts per week, ranging from eight to 12 hours each, would align with your lifestyle and personal preferences.
โYou have time to relax, you have days off, and you can plan your life, but itโs never going to be conventional,โ Dr. Desai says. โItโs all about lifestyle and weighing the pros and cons of what you want.โ
Start progressing toward an emergency physician career
While every emergency physician is a bit different, many have the above characteristics in common. If you recognize that you might be a good fit for this field, it might be time to start thinking about medical school. Find out how to identify programs that can help you meet your goals by reading our article โ6 Things Good Medical Schools Have in Common.โ
