A national survey on current state and development needs of clinical and academic emergency medicine in China

Background: To characterize the current state of emergency medicine (EM) development and the needs for advancing EM practice, education and research in China. Methods An anonymous electronic survey was conducted by Chinese Society of Emergency Medicine during September to October 2021. The survey contained 30 questions divided into 2 sections: the current state of EM development and the needs for growth. Results Finally, 722 hospitals from 26 provinces were included, of 487 were Level III and 235 were Level II hospitals. We found that after 40 years of development, EM had established a mature disciplinary system and refined sub-specialties including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, toxicology, emergencies and disasters and critical care. The training system of emergency professionals had been initially established. 37.8% of emergency departments in Level III hospitals have master's degree program, 8.4% have doctor's degree program, only 2.9% have post-doctoral mobile research stations. Postgraduate curriculums of EM were available in 1/4 of EDs in Level III hospitals. Only 8% have national or provincial key laboratories. In addition to advance clinical practice, there was also a high demand to improve teaching and research capacities, mainly focusing on literature review, research design and delivery, paper writing, standardized training for residents. Conclusions EM has built a mature discipline system and refined sub-specialties in China. The training system of emergency professionals had been initially established. In addition to advance clinical specialty, we should also pay attention to the strong need for improving EM education and research capacities.