Emergency Procedures Important to the Training of Emergency Medicine Residents: Who Performs Them in the Emergency Department?

Objective: To quantify one aspect of emergency medicine (EM) training by determining the proportion of emergency procedures performed by emergency physicians (EPs) in EDs with EM residency programs (EMRPs). Methods: Cross‐sectional descriptive survey of all allopathic EMRPs accredited by the EM Residency Review Committee (RRC‐EM) as of July 1, 1993. Using a modified visual analog scale, program directors indicated the proportion of ten index procedures performed in the ED by EPs vs all other physicians. Results: All 98 EMRPs meeting entry criteria responded to the survey. The medians for the percentage of times index procedures were performed in the ED by an EP were as follows (parentheses following percentages enclose 95% CIs): endotracheal intubation, 97% (95%, 100%); reduction of anterior shoulder dislocation, 93% (88%, 97%); thoracostomy, 63% (50%, 75%); transvenous pacer insertion, 60% (50%, 75%); cricothyrotomy, 50% (50%, 75%); thoracotomy, 50% (25%, 50%); diagnostic peritoneal lavage, 50% (25%, 50%); fiberoptic laryngoscopy, 22% (6%, 25%); sigmoidoscopy, 0% (0%, 6%); and pelvic sonography, 0% (0%, 0%). Conclusion: EPs in EDs of institutions that have EMRPs perform, on average, 50% of all index procedures (95% CI 47%, 52%). This information may assist EM programs experiencing difficulty in ensuring that their residents receive an equitable share of those procedures that are critical to their training.