Healthcare Practitioners
Emergency Medicine Physicians
Also called: Attending Emergency Physician, Attending Physician, Emergency MD (Emergency Medicine Doctor), Emergency Medicine Physician (EM Physician)
US median pay
$335,550
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+3.2%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
900
34,900 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Consult with hospitalists and other professionals, such as social workers, regarding patients' hospital admission, continued observation, transition of care, or discharge.
- Conduct primary patient assessments that include information from prior medical care.
- Communicate likely outcomes of medical diseases or traumatic conditions to patients or their representatives.
- Monitor patients' conditions, and reevaluate treatments, as necessary.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Social Perceptiveness4.2/5
- Service Orientation4.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Making4.1/5
- Complex Problem Solving4.1/5
- Coordination4.0/5
- Persuasion3.6/5
- Instructing3.6/5
- Time Management3.2/5
Knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry5.0/5
- English Language4.8/5
- Biology4.5/5
- Psychology4.4/5
- Therapy and Counseling4.0/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.9/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-doctoral training62%
- Doctoral degree34%
Who this job suits
Mostly Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.