American College of Emergency Physicians


The American College of Emergency Physicians is a professional organization of emergency medicine physicians in the United States. It is headquartered in Irving, Texas and operates an office in Washington, D.C. As of 2013, ACEP has more than 31,000 physician members.

Membership

Active membership in ACEP is available to physicians who have:
  1. completed an ACGME-approved emergency medicine residency
  2. completed an AOA-approved emergency medicine residency.
  3. been certified by any other emergency medicine certifying body recognized by ACEP
  4. been practicing as emergency physicians since before 2000
Fellows use the designation FACEP. In order to earn this designation, an ACEP member must demonstrate at least three years of active involvement in emergency medicine as the physician's chief professional activity, exclusive of training, as well as multiple additional accomplishments in the areas of organizational leadership, education, research, and administration.
ACEP is not a board certification granting organization. Board certification in emergency medicine is administered in the United States by organizations such as the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine.

History

ACEP was founded in 1968 by a group of physicians who shared a commitment to improving the quality of emergency care. The organization set out to educate and train physicians in emergency medicine to provide quality emergency care in the nation's hospitals. In 1979, emergency medicine was officially recognized as a medical specialty, a milestone for ACEP and its members. Board certification granting organizations soon followed, and in 1980 the first certification exam was given. In 2000, ACEP changed its governing documents to make active or full-voting membership available only to residency-trained and board-certified emergency physicians. The organization today counts approximately 31,000 of the country's approximately 63,000 practicing emergency physicians, emergency medicine residents and medical students as members.

Publications

ACEP Now

ACEP members receive ACEP Now, a monthly publication covering clinical issues, emergency medicine practice ideas and in-depth articles on critical issues facing emergency medicine. The publication was previously known as ACEP News.

Annals of Emergency Medicine

ACEP's official research publication, Annals of Emergency Medicine is by the Science Citation Index in the top 11 percent by citation frequency and top 11 percent by impact factor among more than 6,000 science and medical journals. Annals is the No. 1 journal among the 13 titles in the emergency medicine category of Thomson Scientific.