Working for You

EMRA Advocacy

We are advocates representing our members, protecting the practice of emergency medicine and supporting EM physician training.  Here are a few ways we are an influential voice to impact change: 

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Statement on New ABEM Certifying Exam

Jan. 10, 2024 | Download a PDF version

The Emergency Medicine Residents' Association (EMRA) is troubled by today's announcement regarding the new in-person American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Certifying Exam to take place in Raleigh, NC, starting in 2026.

EMRA supports ABEM/ABOEM board certification as the gold standard for the independent practice of emergency medicine,1 and we have initiated discussions with ABEM, as well as ACEP, to share our concerns. We will be meeting with both groups later this week to learn more about the evidence and information behind this decision. Prior to our meeting, we are seeking our members' feedback, which you can email directly to emra@emra.org

EMRA's initial concerns include:

  • Undue Burden
    We are distressed by the financial and logistical burden this would place on newly-graduated, debt-ladened emergency medicine physicians. Last year, more than 2,500 physicians took ABEM’s Oral Certification Exam.2 With a conservative estimated cost of $1,000 to attend the new in-person exam,3,4 ABEM would be adding a financial burden of over $2 million annually to the specialty’s new attendings. 

We believe these costs would more heavily impact under-represented in medicine (URiM) physicians and those choosing to work in rural areas farther from travel hubs–two groups that EM has highlighted as needing more support to make our specialty the best it can be.

  • Unclear Evidence
    While ABEM shares that their Oral Certification Exam provides unique competency data and has been validated,5,6 we are unaware of patient outcome-based evidence showing a clear and proven benefit to in-person oral exams. In fact, a 2023 study found “substantial validity evidence and reliability to support ongoing use of the ABEM virtual oral exam.”7
  • Lack of Stakeholder Input
    While EMRA and other resident organizations were invited to a Summit in Spring 2022, we are unaware of any resident or early-career physician representation on the Becoming Certified Task Force (BCTF) itself. We believe key stakeholders should always have a seat at the table and a voice in decisions that will affect their futures. 

Next Steps: Tell us your thoughts!

Please share your thoughts with us by emailing emra@emra.org.


References

  1. Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association. Policy Compendium: The Physician-Led Workforce. October 2023. XVII. The Physician Led Workforce. Adopted March 1992, amended October 2018. Accessed at https://www.emra.org/siteassets/emra/about-emra/governing-docs/policy-compendium-march-2023-final.pdf.
  2. American Board of Emergency Medicine. 2022-2023 Annual Report. Accessed at https://www.abem.org/public/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2022-2023-Annual-Report.pdf.
  3. United States Department of Transportation. Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Average Domestic Airline Itinerary Fares by Origin City for Q2 2023 Ranked by Total Number of Domesitc Passengers in 2022. Accessed at https://www.transtats.bts.gov/averagefare/
  4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index: Lodging away from home in U.S. city average, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted. Accessed at https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SEHB?output_view=data
  5. American Board of Emergency Medicine. New Certifying Exam Launching in 2026. Accessed at https://www.abem.org/public/become-certified/certifying-exam
  6. American Board of Emergency Medicine. Becoming Certified Initiative Key Findings. 2023. Accessed at https://www.abem.org/public/docs/default-source/default-document-library/BCI-Key-Findings.pdf.
  7. Chudnofsky CR, Reisdorff EJ, Joldersma KB, Ruff KC, Goyal DG, Gorgas DL. Early validity and reliability of evidence for the American Board of Emergency Medicine Virtual Oral Examination. AEM Educ Train. 2023;7(2):e10850. 

Joint Statement from Emergency Medicine Organizations on Efforts to Diversify Health Care Professionals in the United States

July 20, 2023

Following the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the consideration of an applicant's racial or ethnic background in the higher education admissions process, our emergency medicine organizations stand together in our efforts to diversify health care professionals, including physicians, in the United States.

Additionally, we reaffirm our responsibility to addressing health care  disparities and inequities as we deliver exceptional care to all patients who enter our emergency departments.

Evidence indicates race and ethnicity concordance are factors recognized by and important to patient outcomes and their access to quality health care. This is particularly important in emergency care, where patient-physician trust must be established quickly and a substantial portion of patients are from underrepresented and marginalized racial/ethnic groups.

Further, diversity in the health professions also improves the educational experiences of students, resident physicians, the teaching experiences of faculty, and the overall health of our communities.

Our organizations are committed to strengthening the diversity of health professionals, including physicians, and promoting staffing of hospitals and their emergency departments with individuals of diverse race and ethnicity for the health and well-being of our patients.

If the court’s decisions in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) vs Harvard and SFFA vs the University of North Carolina requires changes to current law and practices, we stand ready to work together and with other stakeholders to foster a diverse health professions workforce.


American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM)
AAEM-Resident and Student Association (AAEM-RSA)
American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM)
American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)
Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM)
Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine (CORD)
Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA)
Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM)
SAEM-Residents and Medical Students (SAEM-RAMS)

See also the All EM DEI Vision Statement, issued on January 3, 2023.

EMRA's Response to the 2023 EM Match:
Strengthening the Specialty from All Sides

A message from Dr. Jessica Adkins Murphy, EMRA Immediate Past President

March 24, 2023 | Download a PDF version

EM-bound students, residents, and faculty have spent the past week discussing the Match. Questions from our colleagues in emergency medicine (EM), in other specialties, and now from outside of health care cast uncertainty upon the future of our specialty. We have been asked about the numbers, the possible causes, if these trends will continue, and what will reverse these trends and strengthen our specialty. 

EMRA does not have answers to all of these questions, but we have identified factors at play that point to potential solutions.

Read Entire Statement

EMRA is the voice of emergency medicine physicians-in-training and the future of our specialty. EMRA is the largest and oldest independent resident organization in the world. EMRA was founded in 1974 and today has a membership of more than 17,000 residents, fellows, medical students, and alumni.

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