Emergency Doctor: Diagnosis, Treatment & Choice of Doctor

The emergency physician is the medical professional who guarantees the initial medical care of the patient in emergency situations. His treatment is prehospital, so that hospitalization is not considered until afterwards. His main activity lies in the fact that he diagnoses and treats acute as well as life-threatening injuries, for example after a traffic accident, or also diseases professionally.

What is an emergency physician?

The area of responsibility of the emergency physician is very broad. In this respect, he must be able to immediately recognize all clinical pictures as well as types of injuries and treat them professionally. In order to be allowed to work as an emergency physician, the medical professionals must have successfully completed a special special training. The specific qualification measures that the emergency physician must demonstrate are governed by the medical training regulations, which are determined by the German Medical Association. As a rule, the training takes place over a period of two years. During this time, aspirants must visit various medical specialty institutions. These include, above all, the departments of anesthesia, the emergency room, and the intensive care unit. In addition, participants must attend specified courses through which they learn special emergency procedures. Before successfully passing the exam, candidates must also be able to provide proof of at least 50 supervised rescue missions. Emergency physicians are professionally distinct from emergency medicine physicians, as emergency medicine specialists work directly in the emergency department.

Treatments

The area of responsibility of the emergency physician is very broad. In this respect, he must be able to immediately recognize all clinical pictures as well as types of injuries and treat them professionally. Therefore, the specialized medical professionals have a basic expertise. As soon as the person concerned has alerted the rescue center, the responsible officer-in-charge must decide independently whether an emergency medical service is necessary. In this regard, there is a general reporting catalog, which combines various symptoms inevitably with a deployment of the emergency physician. According to the catalog of indications, the medical specialist must intervene if the person seeking help describes respiratory problems, disorders of consciousness, cardiovascular disorders, severe pain, signs of paralysis or serious burns. Furthermore, an operation will regularly be obligatory if a serious accident has occurred, if people are buried or trapped, if people want to harm themselves, if there has been an altercation between several people, whereby at least one party has suffered stab or gunshot wounds, or if a birth is imminent or has ended immediately. It is thus clear that the work of emergency physicians is by no means limited to a few emergency situations. As a rule, the specialist is transported separately to the scene of the emergency, so that both the specialist and a technically equipped ambulance or rescue helicopter guarantee initial treatment. As soon as the medical specialist arrives at the scene, he will first get an overview of the situation. If necessary, he will then initiate life-saving measures. In most cases, the physician will call for additional hospitalization, so that he must make the patient fit for transport. This includes, in particular, first relieving him of pain and observing the patient medically during the transport journey.

Diagnostic and examination methods

Basic medical care can only be successful if sufficient medical supplies are available to the emergency physician. Because the emergency physician arrives at the scene independently of the ambulance, his or her emergency response vehicle must carry a minimum amount of equipment. Basic equipment includes a surgical kit, anesthetics, a special cannula to treat bone marrow, a coniotomy kit, a 12-lead EKG, a special one to perform emergency amputations, and life-saving ventilators. Meanwhile, the ambulance, which is additionally called to the treatment site, has more advanced medical equipment components. The interior resembles a small hospital treatment room. It carries such equipment as well as medications that may become necessary to preserve vital functions or avert serious damage to health.The emergency physician has at his disposal a reservoir of infusion agents, oxygen bottles, respirators, various types of medical cutlery and typical diagnostic aids. In addition, the ambulance is equipped with various medications to effectively treat poisoning or burns, for example. Consequently, while the patient is being transported to the hospital, the emergency physician can exhaust all possibilities to significantly improve the situation of the affected person, insofar as this is still possible.

How do I reach an emergency doctor in an emergency? What should I pay attention to?

Patients who find themselves in an emergency situation cannot choose the emergency physician in terms of personnel. Instead, they dial the nationwide emergency number (112) so that the call is forwarded directly to the nearest rescue center. Which emergency physician actually arrives at the scene of the emergency therefore depends primarily on the service responsible. Furthermore, it is decisive which doctor is on duty at the time of the notification. However, it is not advisable for victims to first contact their family doctor by telephone. Especially in emergency situations, the loss of time can have a negative effect. In addition, family doctors are generally not sufficiently equipped technically and medically. This means that the family doctor will also alert the qualified colleague. Also, follow-up treatment in the hospital is usually provided by a defined team of specialists, so that the patient is only offered a limited right to choose.