Resident Medical Officer ( Emergency)

Role

An Emergency Medical Officer is the first point of contact for patients in the casualty or emergency department. Their main role is to rapidly assess, stabilize and initiate treatment for acute medical, surgical and trauma cases before referral, admission or discharge.

Key Responsibilities

Initial Patient Assessment

• Perform

  triage

  quickly assess severity and prioritize patients according to urgency.
• Take relevant

  medical history

  (from patient, relatives or ambulance staff).
• Conduct a focused

  physical examination

  to identify life-threatening issues.

Emergency Stabilization

• Initiate

  Basic Life Support (BLS)

  and

  Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)

  when required.
• Manage airway, breathing, and circulation (

  ABC protocol

  ).
• Control bleeding, splint fractures, and provide initial wound care.
  
• Administer emergency medications, IV fluids, oxygen or other supportive measures.
  

Diagnosis & Management

• Order and interpret emergency investigations (ECG, X-ray, blood tests, etc.).
  
• Provide initial management for conditions like heart attack, stroke, asthma attack, poisoning, burns, shock, seizures, trauma, etc.
  
• Recognize when specialist intervention is needed and arrange

  timely referrals

  .

Coordination & Communication

• Liaise with other specialists (surgery, orthopedics, medicine, etc.).
  
• Communicate with nursing staff and paramedics for smooth patient care.
  
• Update patient relatives on condition and treatment plan.
  

Documentation

• Maintain accurate and complete

  medical records

  of patient care.
• Record medico-legal cases (MLCs) — e.g., accidents, assaults, poisoning — as per legal requirements.
  
• Ensure proper documentation for insurance and audit purposes.
  

Medico-Legal Duties

• Handle accident, assault, poisoning, or other legally significant cases according to hospital and legal protocols.
  
• Issue certificates (fitness, injury report, cause of death, etc.) where authorized.
  

Emergency Preparedness

• Participate in disaster management and

  mass casualty response

  .
• Keep emergency equipment and crash carts ready and functional.
  
• Stay updated on emergency protocols and participate in regular drills.
  

Patient Transfer

• Accompany critically ill patients during in-hospital or inter-hospital transfers when needed.
  
• Ensure proper stabilization before transfer.