Emergency medicine has a long tradition at the University of Ulm. Key development steps towards the modern emergency doctor system and current emergency medical care as it exists in Germany today have their origins in Ulm.

Ground-based emergency medical care for the city of Ulm and the surrounding neighbouring communities of the Alb-Donau district is provided by three emergency doctor locations, both of which are contractually assigned to the University Hospital Ulm and the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and are therefore a service task. Both emergency doctor locations are organised and managed by the Emergency Medicine Section.

Together with the anaesthesiological staff of the entire department, the Emergency Medicine Section therefore staffs the emergency ambulances (NEF) operated jointly by the German Red Cross and the Workers' Samaritan Federation, thus ensuring emergency medical care in the city of Ulm and in large parts of the Alb-Donau district.

The total number of call-outs from both emergency medical centres is currently just under 6,000 per year.

Emergency medical care also includes the training of future emergency physicians. The Emergency Medicine Section is co-organiser of an emergency doctor course recognised by the Medical Association and organises the participation of future emergency doctors from the Clinic for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine as trainees in emergency doctor missions in order to achieve the number of missions required by the further training regulations. After passing the examination at the Medical Association, the new emergency physicians are given a special induction with an intensive tutorial lasting one week.

The leading emergency physician service for the city of Ulm and the Alb-Donau district is staffed by four leading emergency physicians (LNA) each from the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Ulm University Hospital and the Anaesthesia Department of the Bundeswehrkrankenhaus (BWK) Ulm and is coordinated by the Emergency Medicine Section of the Department of Anaesthesia. The head of the Emergency Medicine Section is also the spokesperson or deputy spokesperson for the leading emergency doctor group, alternating on a rotational basis with a representative from the BWK Ulm.

In addition, since the beginning of this event, the Emergency Medicine Section has provided the medical management and a significant proportion of the subordinate emergency physicians for the now traditional Ulm Einstein Marathon.

Unlike in most other federal states, Baden-Württemberg does not have a formal Medical Director of Rescue Services (ÄLRD), which elsewhere is usually a staff position in the city or municipal administration. In Ulm, this function is therefore performed by the head of the emergency medicine section.

As such, he is the contact person for the city of Ulm, the local police authority of the city of Ulm, the disaster control of the city of Ulm and the Alb-Donau district, the management of the fire brigade of the city of Ulm and the police headquarters of the city of Ulm and as such is an expert, consultant and cooperation partner for the examination and approval of medical service concepts for securing major events, the creation of concepts for the control of special, disaster and terrorist situations and the medical management of special situations such as, for example, visits by personalities with a special status.For example, visits to Ulm by personalities of particular importance (Federal President, Federal Chancellor, Minister President of the State of Baden-Württemberg, etc.).

For the rescue organisations, he is also the medical officer responsible for the rescue service (medicines, anaesthetics, paramedic training, vehicle equipment, training concepts). This area also includes equipping the NEF with innovative technology such as preclinical emergency sonography or video laryngoscopy.

The Section for Emergency Medicine is an important pillar in the teaching programme of the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine. The head of the Emergency Medicine Section is the lecturer at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and is responsible for the organisation and implementation of student teaching in the field of emergency medicine.

Lectures, practical courses and seminars are held here for students in clinical studies, which teach the cross-sectional subject Q8, Emergency Medicine as Continuous Medical Education from the "First Medical Aid" course in the 6th semester to the additional qualification in Emergency Medicine. Teaching is very practice-orientated and takes place in small groups wherever possible.

In addition, the Department of Emergency Medicine also offers a special emergency internship for dental students, which is unique in this form in Germany.

The "Q8 - Emergency Medicine" consists of the following sections:

• "First medical aid" course with an accompanying lecture of one hour per week per semester and a three-day practical course of three hours each
• Lecture "Emergency Medicine" lecture with 1 hour per week per semester and seminar "Emergency Room".
  The seminar "Emergency Room" consists of a seminar lecture with 1 hour per week per semester as well as the processing of casuistics with 1 hour per week per semester, in which hybrid actor patients are used in close cooperation with the Institute for Anaesthesiological Pathophysiology and Procedure Development and its director Prof. Dr. Dr. Radermacher.
• Block internship in emergency medicine with an internship over five days of three hours each
• A one-day ambulance internship in which the students travel in an ambulance of the regular rescue service as interns.
• For students in their practical year who are completing their anaesthesiology tertial in the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Ulm University Hospital, the programme also includes a multi-day internship in an ambulance.
  The Emergency Medicine Section is also involved in the teaching events "Disaster Medicine", "AINS", "Internal Medicine for Dental Students" and "Expedition Medicine".
• As mentioned, a special emergency internship tailored to the specific needs of dentists is offered for dental students at the University of Ulm, which runs over two days with three lessons each.

The Emergency Medicine Section's courses regularly receive excellent ratings in student evaluations and are honoured with both the "Best Teaching Clinic" award from the Medical Student Council and the "Ulm University Teaching Award".

From a scientific point of view, research projects and studies as well as the supervision of doctoral students take place in the following areas:

Water rescue, resuscitation research, teaching research, health services research

The research activities are both experimental and retrospective with data analysis, or prospective randomised. Findings from these research endeavours have already led to an adaptation of current guidelines and an improvement in student teaching with the implementation of an e-learning tool

The Emergency Medicine Section also participates in the German Resuscitation Register and is involved in the scientific data analysis.