American College of Emergency Physicians
Encyclopedia
Emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in 1968 and is now headquartered in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
. As of 2009 ACEP has over 28,000 physician members.
The college exists to support quality emergency medical care and the physicians who provide it. ACEP believes that “quality emergency care is a fundamental right and unobstructed access to emergency services should be available to all patients who perceive the need for emergency services.”
Active membership in ACEP is available to physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s who have:
- completed an ACGME-approved emergency medicine residency
- completed an AOAAmerican Osteopathic AssociationThe American Osteopathic Association is the representative member organization for the over 78,000 osteopathic medical physicians in the United States...
-approved emergency medicine residency. - been certified by any other emergency medicine certifying body recognized by ACEP
- been practicing as emergency physicians since before 2000 (a/k/a "Legacy" physicians)
Fellows use the designation FACEP ("Fellow of ACEP"). In order to gain this designation, an ACEP member must demonstrate at least three years of active involvement in emergency medicine as the physician's chief professional activity, exclusive of training, as well as multiple additional accomplishments in the areas of organizational leadership, education, research, and administration.
ACEP is not a board certification granting organization. Board certification in emergency medicine is administered in the United States by organizations such as the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine.