workforce of the future

In April 2021, ACEP released Emergency Medicine Physician Workforce: Projections for 2030, a research report reflecting evidence-based data that shows our specialty is facing – for the first time in history – a likely oversupply of emergency physicians in the next decade.

ACEP’s Young Physicians Section recently hosted a discussion about the future of the emergency medicine workforce with ACEP President-Elect Gillian Schmitz, MD, FACEP, and EMRA President-Elect Angela Cai, MD, MBA, FACEP. Watch the recording here.

View or listen to VACEP’s May 4 Workforce Report Town Hall.

We held a town hall with VACEP members to dive deeper into the report. Many members also submitted questions that were addressed during the event. Watch below, though you can also:

• Listen to the town hall on our podcast page, Safety.Net (streamable via Bluetooth during commute)

• Read the highlights in an abridged transcript

Review the Current Framework of Workforce Considerations.

ACEP must make data-driven decisions that help inform the steps the specialty takes to mitigate current and anticipated impacts to our future.

View or listen to the original overview webinar from ACEP.

The webinar from April 9, 2021 begins the conversations necessary to ensure we are working together to make data-driven decisions that help inform the next steps the specialty takes to mitigate current and anticipated impacts to emergency medicine. You can also download a PDF of the presentation.

BACKGROUND

The findings from the research were revealed after two years of collaboration and are critical to identifying and understanding the challenges we now face, with regards to the supply and demand of emergency medicine, in order to determine a data-driven, forward-looking approach to protect and evolve our specialty.

We acknowledge that we do not yet have all the solutions to address market-driven industry instability, but we will make the most of every opportunity to partner and advocate in new ways, listen and learn from other specialties when and if appropriate, and – most importantly – leverage our expertise and influence more effectively.

From ACEP’s perspective, there are 8 key considerations we are committed to addressing:

1. Stem the growth of emergency medicine residents and residency programs

2. Raise the bar and ensure consistency across emergency medicine residency training

3. Ensure business interests are not superseding the needs of educating the workforce

4. Support practicing physicians to encourage rewarding practice in all communities

5. Advocate that NPs and PAs working in the unique environment of emergency department have sufficient specialty training and work as a member of the emergency physician-led team

6. Set the standards for emergency medicine so every patient has access to a board-certified emergency physician

7. Broaden the umbrella to expand emergency medicine physician scope of practice

8. Expand the reach of emergency medicine to ensure that no community is left behind

Read the Brief Summary prepared by ACEP’s Board for more detail.

Facts from the findings:

• Market consolidation, fragmentation and health care economics have shifted incentives across our industry. In many settings, we have seen board-certified, emergency physician hours and contracts eliminated in favor of more cost advantageous PA or NP hours at the detriment to both patients and our workforce alike.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has further laid bare many vulnerabilities within the health care system and accelerated the pressures and challenges we face to ensuring and maintaining a meaningful and sustainable emergency medicine workforce.

• The contribution of telehealth and other transformative practice models has shown us how the volume of ED visits may not grow at the same pace as the projected supply of physicians.

FINDING SOLUTIONS

ACEP and our emergency medicine partners will translate the data we collect and ideas from the community into action plans as we take steps to redefine emergency medicine of the future. The implementation of the ideas discussed will require the involvement of the entire specialty.

There is not one perfect, holistic solution to address market-driven industry instability. We must acknowledge change will take time and precision, and there are no quick fixes for the challenges we face.

Additional Reading

• ACEP Frontline podcast with Ryan Stanton, MD, FACEP. He sits down with EMRA president Dr. RJ Sontag to discuss how these findings land with EM residents and a discussion of some of the many solutions on the table moving forward.

• A Twitter thread from Ashley Tarchione, MD summarizing the report and the EMRA Vice Speaker’s insights.

• A Twitter thread from Hannah Hughes, MD, MBA on the report.

• A Twitter thread from Babak Behgam, DO with his insights.