The 2004 West Virginia emergency medicine workforce

Staffing of rural emergency departments (ED) with residency-trained, board certified emergency physicians has been an ongoing challenge in the field of Emergency Medicine.

To describe the West Virginia (WV) emergency medicine (EM) workforce and make comparisons with the most recent (1999) national EM workforce study and the 1996 WV rural EM workforce study.

A cross sectional mail survey of all non-governmental emergency departments (EDs) in WV was performed from 10/04-12/04. Subgroup analysis of rural EDs using the 1996 WV rural EM study criteria was conducted. Data collected included: number of physicians, residency training, board certification, ED volume, and the number and type of specialty services available.

Surveys were mailed to 55 EDs, with a 71% response rate (N=39) describing 310 physicians. Overall, 51% of physicians were either trained and/or board certified in EM, versus 62% in the 1999 national study. In the rural subgroup, 32% were either residency trained and/or board certified in EM, versus 12% in the 1996 WV study.

Just over half of all physicians staffing WV's EDs are residency trained or board certified in EM, a number that lags well behind the national average. Rural EDs report even lower numbers, although the proportion has increased since the 1996 WV study. WV EM practitioners, particularly in more rural locations, continue to provide emergency care with less formal training, certification credentials, and specialty back-up.