The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to emergency medicine:
Emergency medicine - medical specialty involving care for undifferentiated, unscheduled patients with acute illnesses or injuries that require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency physicians undertake acute investigations and interventions to resuscitate and stabilize patients. Emergency physicians generally practice in hospital emergency departments, pre-hospital settings via emergency medical services, and intensive care units.
Listed below are conditions that constitute a possible medical emergency and may require immediate first aid, emergency room care, surgery, or care by a physician or nurse. Not all medical emergencies are life-threatening; some conditions require medical attention in order to prevent significant and long-lasting effects on physical or mental health.
Emergency medicine is multidisciplinary - due to the diversity of medical emergencies encountered, emergency medicine relies heavily upon the knowledge and procedures of many medical specialties, including:
Emergency medical equipment
Book: Marx, John . Rosen's emergency medicine: concepts and clinical practice 7th edition . 2010 . Mosby/Elsevier . Philadelphia, PA . 978-0-323-05472-0 .