Emergency Medicine Physicians

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.

Most important skills

Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Reading Comprehension
Speaking
Social Perceptiveness
Writing
Monitoring
Service Orientation

Key knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry
English Language
Biology
Psychology
Therapy and Counseling
Customer and Personal Service
Education and Training
Public Safety and Security

What the work involves

Analyze records, examination information, or test results to diagnose medical conditions.
Assess patients' pain levels or sedation requirements.
Collect and record patient information, such as medical history or examination results, in electronic or handwritten medical records.
Communicate likely outcomes of medical diseases or traumatic conditions to patients or their representatives.
Conduct primary patient assessments that include information from prior medical care.
Consult with hospitalists and other professionals, such as social workers, regarding patients' hospital admission, continued observation, transition of care, or discharge.
Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, assistants, specialists, residents, and other medical staff.
Discuss patients' treatment plans with physicians and other medical professionals.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Social, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Post-Doctoral Training (62.1% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (51.7%)
On-the-job training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (41.4%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Emergency Medicine Physicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Very high	Higher on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared	97% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Very high	Higher on dealing with the public than 96% of occupations compared	83% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	Very high	Higher on teamwork than 94% of occupations compared	83% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Very high	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared	93% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	High	Higher on time pressure than 76% of occupations compared	57% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Conflict situations	Very high	Higher on conflict situations than 99% of occupations compared	67% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very high	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 99% of occupations compared	80% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Consequence of error	Very high	Higher on consequence of error than 99% of occupations compared	97% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: high
Conflict situations: very high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
Consequence of error: very high

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions