Emergency Medicine in Finland: First Year Experiences of Specialist Training.

Objective: Emergency medicine (EM) was established as a specialty in Finland at the beginning of 2013. The training period of six years conforms to the principles of the European Curriculum for EM. In this study, we evaluated the first-year experience of training in the Kanta-Häme Central Hospital, Finland.. Material and Methods: We studied both qualitatively and quantitatively the typical structure of the working week of EM residents. A qualitative analysis of a weekly learning day was carried out with regards to the programme, learning methods and themes. A quantitative analysis was carried out by pre/post setting of the topics offered in weekly clinical lectures and the numbers of attending physicians. Results: Since the initiation of EM specialty, the lectures became more comprehensive (p<0.001).The proportion of topics of conservative specialties decreased from 77.0% to 46.7% while those of operative specialties increased from 5.9% to 36.7%. The mean (±standard error of mean) number of attending doctors increased from 14.0±0.4 to 22.7±0.9 (p<0.001).The working group sessions, lectures and ultrasound training increased after establishment of EM specialty. Conclusion: According to these preliminary results, a successful training programme of EM is achievable by systematic planning of practical training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]