Critical Care has been defined as the delivery of medical care to “any patient who is physiologically unstable, requiring constant and minute-to-minute titration of therapy according to the evolution of the disease process.” It has not defined by location but actually spans the continuum of care from the prehospital setting through the ED and in to the ICU.

In the United States and worldwide, there has been a steady increase in the number of critically ill patients presenting to the Emergency Department, and these patients are spending longer times in the ED while competing for scarce ICU beds. With the advent of early goal directed therapy, it has become ever more important to manage patients aggressively from the moment of initial contact. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the notion that early, aggressive management of patients with a variety of life-threatening diagnoses leads to sustained mortality benefits.

Henry Ford Hospital was the first program to offer a fully-integrated, 6-year program that led to board certification in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine (EM/IM/CCM). Our graduates pursue academic and leadership careers in Critical Care and Emergency Medicine and continue to be highly competitive nationwide.

The objective of this unique six-year combined training program is to prepare physicians for practice in academic careers addressing the spectrum of illnesses and injuries from emergency department presentation until discharge. Graduates will likely function as academic intensivists or emergency physicians with a strong background in research.