The Future of the Certification System in Emergency Medicine, ,

The heart of the specialty of emergency medicine, like all specialties and subspecialties, is training. The excellence in medical care that has accrued to the American public has proceeded from the belief that a well-defined and accredited program of education will produce the highest probability that a physician providing care will be competent. There is now a joint opportunity in emergency medicine to build a certification and recertification system that meets the criteria to provide the highest quality care for the public and to offer an efficient and effective system for the members of the specialty. [Munger BS, Danzl DF, Reinhart MA: The future of the certification system in emergency medicine. Ann Emerg Med December 1997;30:776-778.]