Careers · Explore one path
Emergency Medicine Physicians
Make immediate medical decisions and act to prevent death or further disability. Provide immediate recognition, evaluation, care, stabilization, and disposition of patients. May direct emergency medical staff in an emergency department.
Other titles employers use
Attending Emergency Physician · Attending Physician · Emergency MD (Emergency Medicine Doctor) · Emergency Medicine Physician (EM Physician) · Emergency Physician · MD (Medical Doctor) · Physician · Critical Care Physician
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Select, request, perform, or interpret diagnostic procedures, such as laboratory tests, electrocardiograms, emergency ultrasounds, and radiographs.
- Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs and priority of treatment.
- Perform emergency resuscitations on patients.
- Stabilize patients in critical condition.
- Perform such medical procedures as emergent cricothyrotomy, endotracheal intubation, and emergency thoracotomy.
- Analyze records, examination information, or test results to diagnose medical conditions.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to analytical, helping and organizing work.
- Analytical
- Investigating questions, testing ideas, and solving problems
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Writing
Subjects to know
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Biology
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Written Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Written Expression
- Problem Sensitivity
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 4.8 | Arm’s length or closer, most of the day |
| On your feet | 3.2 | Up and down through the day |
| Talking face to face | 4.9 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 3.3 | Some of the day |
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Medical software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 8,200
- Job openings each year
- 290
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 10.8%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 8,200 | 290 | 10.8% |
| Florida | 4,130 | 150 | 11.9% |
| Virginia | 1,750 | 60 | 9.4% |
| Michigan | 1,250 | 30 | 1.6% |
| Wisconsin | 1,160 | 40 | 7.4% |
| New Jersey | 1,140 | 40 | 9.6% |
| Minnesota | 1,070 | 30 | 1.9% |
| Indiana | 980 | 30 | 5.4% |
| Ohio | 950 | 30 | 3.3% |
| Illinois | 920 | 20 | −2.1% |
| Georgia | 800 | 30 | 12.7% |
| Nevada | 780 | 30 | 5.4% |
| Maryland | 520 | 20 | 2.0% |
| Pennsylvania | 520 | 20 | — |
| Missouri | 490 | 10 | — |
| Connecticut | 480 | 20 | 4.3% |
| New Mexico | 440 | 20 | 12.8% |
| Nebraska | 430 | 10 | 7.5% |
| Iowa | 400 | 10 | 2.6% |
| New Hampshire | 390 | 10 | 2.6% |
| Massachusetts | 360 | 10 | 5.9% |
| Oregon | 320 | 10 | 10.3% |
| Louisiana | 300 | 10 | 3.4% |
| Kentucky | 280 | 10 | 3.7% |
| Alabama | 250 | 10 | 8.7% |
| West Virginia | 250 | 10 | 4.2% |
| Arizona | 210 | 10 | 16.7% |
| Rhode Island | 210 | 10 | 5.0% |
| Utah | 200 | 10 | 42.9% |
| Montana | 190 | 10 | 11.8% |
| Arkansas | 180 | 10 | 5.9% |
| Oklahoma | 170 | 10 | — |
| Maine | 150 | 0 | −6.3% |
| North Dakota | 140 | 10 | 7.7% |
| Mississippi | 130 | 0 | 8.3% |
| South Carolina | 120 | 0 | — |
| Vermont | 110 | 0 | — |
| South Dakota | 100 | 0 | 11.1% |
| Alaska | 70 | 0 | 16.7% |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.