ctans must be on duty 24 hours a day in emergency depart- ments to ensure adequate coverage and supervision and teaching of the house staff.

Dr Hampton speaks degradingly of second career emer- gency phymcians and their continuing education. I would like to remind him tha t the American Academy of Gen- eral Practice started the concept of continuing education- al requirements for its members, the American Academy of Family Phymcians has continued this, and the Ameri- can College of Emergency Physicmns (ACEP) has adopted mmflar s tandards for its members. Few other specialties have such requirements.

The ACEP has developed cmterm and hsted the skills necessary for emergency physicians. There are now 28 emergency medmine residencies, ~ and adoption of'~essen- tials" and establ ishment of approval mechanisms are in process under the auspices of the AMA Council on Medical Education. Dr. Hampton says that these residencms will be comparable to those m general or thmily practice; I would like to remind him that they are comparable to those of any specialty. He states tha t these residencies

~Th~s number has since grown to 33 emergency medicine remden- a l e s ,

probably will not provide the m-depth t ra in ing experiene~l necessary for the most effective care of life-threatenln! emergencies, and this is simply not so. ~

The teaching that involves l i fe-threatening ernerg~ I cies has to occur in the emergency depar tment where" t L~.~ t rea tment of hfe- threatening emergencms occurs, l~vel the prehospital t rea tment of l i fe-threatening emergen cies occurs through the emergency department. These resl dences are based in the emergency departments, and l would submit to Dr. Hampton that this ~s the only area where the in-depth ]earning experiences necessary can obtamed.

Though the pmme duty of the emergency physictati ls}~ t reat l i fe-threatening conditions, he mus t also provldel care for the urgent and non-urgent conditmns that comet~ I the emergency department, because patmnts dectde wha I emergencies are, and we, therefore, t r am our ernergencl ~ medicine residents to examine and t reat all patient pr0[~l lems that present.

R. R. Hannas, Jr, MD Evanston Hospital Evanston, Ilhnois

Errata: In a correspondence from Martin S. Kohn, MD, and Frank J. Baker, II, MD, (JACEP, March/April. 1975) concerning 'Carbon Monoxide Intoxicat ion' (JACEP, September/Qctober 1974) by Paul G. Mueller, MD, the comment on cherry red hps asas ,gn of carbon monoxide poJsomng should read: TheclassJcallydescnbed cherry red hps ~s not a very common sign and ,ts absence does not preclude serious exposure.

In Dr Mueller's reply the comments concerning hyperbaric treatment, for which T. Crawford McAslan, MD, was cited as a reference, were transmitted to Dr. Mueller in the form of telephone and personal communications, rather than written. Our apologies to Dr. McAslan for reversing his first initial and middle name and for neglecting to include that he Js the associate director of the Maryland Inshtute of Emergency Medicine as well as professor 0f anesthesiology at the Unwers~ty of Maryland Medical School. - - Managing Editor

Page 250 Volume 4 Number 3 May/June 1975 J ~