Abstract
Aim: In December 2023, the Medical Specialization Board of Japan recommended granting emergency medicine as a primary specialty the right to undergo a subspecialty examination in critical care. This decision was subsequently published in the Official Gazette in May 2024, and it was officially entered into force. While Emergency Medicine Specialization Societies welcomed this decision with great enthusiasm, Critical Care Specialization Societies reacted negatively. Through this survey study, we aimed to determine the opinions of emergency medicine physicians regarding the Critical Care Subspecialty and to reflect on the current debate within the emergency medicine community.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey study involved physicians working at the Emergency Medicine Clinic of a City Hospital. After obtaining the necessary permissions, a 22-question survey was prepared using Google Forms and administered to 52 emergency medicine physicians who agreed to participate out of the 75 physicians working in the clinic. Descriptive statistics were obtained from the survey results, and categorical variables were presented as frequencies and percentages.
Results: 29% of the physicians had over 10 years of experience in emergency medicine, whereas 27% had 1-2 years of experience. All participants agreed that the critical care subspecialty is appropriate for emergency medicine, supported the recommendation, and desired the right to enter this subspecialty. Additionally, 92% of the physicians viewed the efforts of emergency medicine specialty societies regarding critical care subspecialty positively, whereas 96% considered the opposing statements from other specialty societies to be unjustified.
Conclusion: There is widespread consensus among emergency medicine physicians regarding the need for subspecialty training. Granting the right to enter the critical care subspecialty will likely result in many emergency medicine specialists occupying positions within this field, despite the potential drawbacks.
