• Sarah Coppes, Rebekka Veugelers, HesselsRoger A P ARAPAETZ, Tilburg, The Netherlands., Crispijn L van den Brand, and Menno I Gaakeer.
• Spaarne Gasthuis, Haarlem, The Netherlands. scoppes@spaarnegasthuis.nl.
• Int J Emerg Med. 2020 Feb 10; 13 (1): 8.

ObjectivesEmergency medicine (EM) in the Netherlands has developed rapidly and initially without central guidance. This has led to heterogeneity in current EM practice. Our aim was to quantify this heterogeneity by answering the following questions: (1) What is the current position of emergency physicians (EPs) within hospital organizations? (2) Which roles and responsibilities do EPs have across emergency departments (EDs)?MethodsDuring 2018, we conducted a survey among all EM consultant bodies (CBs, n = 56) in the Netherlands. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.ResultsThe response rate was 91.1%. Presence of EPs has been realized 24/7 in 23.1% of EDs. EPs were the main consultants for all ED patients in 9.8% of CBs, but never had this role in 13.7% of CBs. EPs supervised EM junior doctors in 78.5% of EDs, GPs in training in 80.0% of EDs, and junior doctors of other specialties in 41.5% of EDs. Procedures such as lumbar puncture (LP), procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA), and emergency ultrasound (US) were performed by all EPs in the CB in a range between 5.9 and 78.4%. In 36.9% of EDs, EPs did not analyze patients with presumed cardiac pathology due to a separate First Heart Aid.ConclusionWe conclude that there is a high degree of heterogeneity between emergency CBs in regard to the position in the hospital and the role or responsibilities in the ED. Lack of uniformity might inhibit emancipation of the profession.

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