The 2026 Core Content of Emergency Medical Services Medicine

On March 25, 2026, the EMS Subboard of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) approved modifications to the Core Content of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Medicine, a subspecialty of Emergency Medicine. This revision was informed by growth and evolution of the subspecialty in conjunction with a job analysis survey that was distributed by ABEM to current EMS Medicine diplomates. The Core Content defines the foundational knowledge base for the delivery of healthcare in the out-of-hospital setting, the physician medical oversight of EMS clinicians, and the operation of EMS systems that is necessary to practice EMS Medicine. The Core Content is used to define the scope of the subspecialty of EMS Medicine and guide the Certification Examination blueprint for questions used in the subspecialty certification and maintenance of certification examinations. It also serves to inform EMS fellowship directors of the content that should comprise subspecialty training in EMS Medicine and informs candidates of the content of the clinical practice of the subspecialty. The 2026 update to the Core Content includes advances in EMS Medicine and expansion of topic areas identified in the job analysis survey to be of high importance and frequency to EMS physicians. The revised Core Content also involved restructuring of the major content areas and individual subtopics to align with the education framework of EMS Medicine physicians, reduce redundancy, and improve clarity on the content of each item.