Emergency Medicine

The specialty of emergency medicine has a unique mandate to provide screening and treatment for emergency medical conditions regardless of an individual’s ability to pay, year-round, at any time of the day or night. Emergency physicians therefore come in frequent contact with diverse and marginalized populations who have nowhere else to turn for healthcare. Diversity among physicians in the specialty of emergency medicine has stagnated since 2005. Initiatives to address this trend may help mitigate disparities in emergency care and may create a more inclusive learning and practice environment for emergency physicians. This chapter discusses the rationale for workforce diversity and inclusion in emergency medicine and summarizes historical and current workforce trends in emergency medicine with respect to race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. This chapter reviews specialty specific strengths and weaknesses in the creation of a diverse workforce and identifies interventions and solutions for promoting a more diverse workforce in emergency medicine in the future.