The Emergency Medicine Workforce: Shortage Resolving, Future Surplus Expected.

Introduction: The emergency medicine (EM) workforce has been growing at a rapid rate, fueled by a large increase in the number of EM residency programs and growth in the number of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs).

Objectives: To review current available data on patient volumes and characteristics, the overall physician workforce, the current emergency physician (EP) workforce, and to project emergency physician staffing needs into the future.

Methods: Data was obtained through review of the current medical literature, reports from certifying organizations and professional societies, Web searches for alternative sources, and published governmental data.

The Emergency Medicine Workforce: Profile and Projections.

Background: The landscape of the emergency medicine workforce has changed dramatically over the last few decades. The growth in emergency medicine residency programs has significantly increased the number of emergency medicine specialists now staffing emergency departments (EDs) throughout the country. Despite this increase in available providers, rising patient volumes, an aging population, ED overcrowding and inefficiency, increased regulation, and other factors have resulted in the continued need for additional emergency physicians.