28 April 2026
The future of Emergency Medicine is bright and clinicians must continue to be “loud and proud” about what they do.
That was the key message from Dr Ian Higginson, RCEM President, during his opening speech at the College’s inaugural annual conference today (28 April).
The conference, held in Birmingham from 28-30 April, is hosting more than 1,200 delegates from across EM in person, with even more watching online.
Dr Higginson opened the event this morning by talking about the future of the specialty in which he has worked for more than three decades.
He spoke about new technology, practice and ways of working in EM, and spoke about the key challenges which will be faced in the coming years.
The President also discussed the need to make the specialty more sustainable so that talented clinicians do not burn themselves out.
Dr Higginson said: “Working in EM should not be something we have to grind our way through. This specialty is absolutely bloody amazing and we should be loud and proud about that.
“I think we can lead on positive cultural change. If anyone can, we can.”
Concluding his keynote, Dr Higginson said: “I genuinely don’t know what the future EM is but there are grounds for optimism based on what we do, and the people who choose to do it.
“The fact is we will always be needed. Patients will get sick, they will get injured, and they will either come to us or us to them – but one way or another it will happen.
“We will always be the safety net and that’s something we should be proud of as a specialty.
He added: “We bring extraordinary skills and care to bear for our patients.
“I invite everyone here to look around to your left, and to your right – that is the future of EM.”