Emergency medicine has an increasing prominence all over the world and especially in Europe. Its definition is being refined, bringing together out-of-hospital and in-hospital emergencies. This medical activity is being reinforced by gradually becoming a primary specialty in the various European countries, facilitated by the curriculum published by the European Society for Emergency Medicine. Thus, more and more young doctors want to evolve in this new specialty. It is the same for paramedics, emergency medical technicians, nurses. The European Society for Emergency Nurses is now part of our congress. These personnel are working together for the same goal which is the medical, traumatological, psychological, and psychiatric management of acute pathologies.
Therefore, they must meet regularly to discuss their common practices. This is the goal of the European Congress of Emergency Medicine of the European Society for Emergency Medicine, which will be hosting its 12th annual meeting in 2018. This congress grows from year to year. It now brings together over 2000 participants from many countries even beyond Europe. The development of this congress depends certainly on the experience of the university emergency specialists who have ability to elaborate this kind of event and who have a well developed network of contacts who are opinion leaders in the field.
But the originality of this congress is also in the links with those who will build the emergency medicine of tomorrow and who are young specialists in emergency medicine. Indeed, the Young Emergency Medicine Doctors Committee has allowed integration of original, more interactive, dynamic sessions such as the Euro SimCup, bringing together national teams from different countries, or the Speed Networking Event.
This year the European Congress on Emergency Medicine is being held in Glasgow, UK, organised as always by the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM) together with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).
The event and the location have a special meaning this year, for two reasons, and this is underlying that emergency care is universal, successful, useful and without borders.
The first reason is that last year the RCEM celebrated the 50th anniversary of emergency medicine as a recognised specialty in the UK. The second reason is that despite Brexit, emergency medicine is a growing specialty in Europe and it is tightly linked to the country that has been the school and example for most European countries.
The EUSEM has grown and is now a strong European scientific society. Our institution is the reference body to which many countries look to develop the specialty of emergency medicine and to organise efficient emergency care.
The sections and committees, active in EUSEM, are working hard to prepare the revision of the European curriculum that will be presented in Glasgow, guidelines and scientific papers on geriatric, paediatric, pre-hospital emergency medicine, important projects and collaborations with academic institutions working in disaster medicine, the new definition of emergency medicine, and the professional standards of emergency departments that should be granted in all European countries.
EUSEM is offering high quality courses that cover wide parts of the curriculum, with modular and comprehensive courses, which are particularly important for the young emergency physicians. Our society is also proposing the priming course for the European Board Examination of Emergency Medicine (EBEEM), the exam certifying that the competences and skills for practising as an independent emergency physician are achieved. The EBEEM is organised by the Emergency Medicine Examination Reference Group for Europe (EMERGE), which is a joint committee between the EUSEM and the UEMS Section and Board of Emergency Medicine. Thus the EBEEM content and delivery is done according to the European recommendations for examination and assessment of the specialties in Europe, and represent the competencies included in the European curriculum.
EUSEM is aware that emergency medicine is curing not only the acute phase of diseases but also has the important function to harbour victims of domestic violence and abuse, to grant dignity for the dying and other fundamental ethical issues. This is the reason why the Ethical Committee is developing recommendations and guidelines beyond regulating the relationship with industry.
Finally, EUSEM is collaborating with other scientific societies including ESC and the ESICM for writing or endorsing position papers and guidelines, and is being recognised as the reference body for the emergency setting of diseases in Europe.
