Comparing the Emergency Medicine Residency Programs in Iran and around the World; a Descriptive Study

To identify the strengths and weaknesses of emergency medicine residency curriculum in Iran, and to benefit from the experiences of successful universities, comparative studies are crucial. This study compared the components of the national curriculum of emergency medicine in the United States, Canada, the European Union, Australia, and Saudi Arabia with Iran.

Data for this research was collected by searching the websites of different universities and also contacting them for requesting curriculums. The leading countries in emergency medicine and one of the countries in the Middle East region (Saudi Arabia) along with the World Federation of Emergency Medicine were selected as the sample. The model used in this field is a range model that identifies four stages of description, interpretation, proximity, and comparison in comparative studies.

In the curriculum of the United States, Canada, the European Union, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, there were lots of similarities in expressing the general characteristics of the curriculum, mission elements, vision, values, and ​beliefs of the discipline, educational strategy, techniques, expected competencies, rotation programs, and evaluation method, which were also similar to the Iranian curriculum. However, the duration of residency for emergency medicine in Iran is three years, which is shorter than other countries. As expected, the number and duration of rotations are less than other countries. Also, the process of entering into this field is different in Iran and is based on an exam for entrance, while most other countries use self-requested residency program.

Considering the results of comparing the Iranian curriculum with the curriculums of the United States, Canada, the European Union, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, it seems that Iran's program is comprehensive and complete; but, a reappraisal of the course duration and entering options are necessary to eliminate or improve the inadequacies.