Abstract
Although emergency medical services (EMS) and pre-hospital care have existed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) since 1934, emergency medicine (EM) is a relatively new medical field in the country that was not formally recognized as a medical specialty until 2001. In 2005, the Saudi Board of Emergency Medicine formed to develop, implement, and evaluate a standardized curriculum for EM residents. Since then, EM and the pre-hospital system in the KSA has evolved and grown. This article provides an overview of emergency medicine in Saudi Arabia and the progress it has made in the pre-hospital system, healthcare delivery system, and emergency medicine training. Finally, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities faced as this specialty continues to develop.
Highlights
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is the fifth largest country in Asia and the second in the Arab world in terms of area [1, 2] and has a population estimated at 32.5 million as of 2016 [3]
The remaining 20% of healthcare delivery in the KSA is provided by the private sector
Academic Emergency Department (ED) and hospitals with North American ED models are becoming increasingly attractive, competitive work environments for new graduate medical students, emergency residents, and qualified emergency physicians because of their high-quality care, efficiency, safe triaging, organized patient flow, cutting-edge technology, and the presence of qualified senior staff. Other than these prestigious institutions, most emergency healthcare in Saudi Arabia is provided by physicians with little to no post-graduate training or who have been trained in other medical specialties [14, 15]
Summary
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is the fifth largest country in Asia and the second in the Arab world in terms of area [1, 2] and has a population estimated at 32.5 million as of 2016 [3]. Residency training: general structure and curriculum Medical specialty training in Saudi Arabia evolved in non-academic healthcare institutes providers, leading to significant discrepancies in training and certification until the SCFHS was established.
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