• This Emergency Medicine introductory course provides the foundational knowledge needed for an Emergency Medicine rotation for clinically-prepared medical students, residents, or practicing physicians. All parts of this training are free, including registration, learning, testing, and a certificate of completion. 

    This Emergency Medicine course was developed in partnership with the Emory University Center for Injury Control (a WHO Collaborating Center), the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (the global federation of national EM organizations), the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (the global association of academic EM physicians). This course uses competencies recommended by Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine published in Academic Emergency Medicine, and resources from accredited, world-class organizations such as the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Heart AssociationClerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine,  and the World Health Organization. The course developer is Jennifer Chu, MD, and our Advisory Group is Glen Bandiera, MD, MEd; Deborah Diercks, MD, MSc; Jim Ducharme; Laura Hans, MD; Cherri Hobgood; Debra Houry, MD, MPH; Alan Jones, MD; Niranjan “Tex” Kissoon, MD; Steve Lin, MD; and Rahim Valani, MD. 

    For a publication on this course’s efficacy, see “A Test of the First Course (Emergency Medicine) That Is Globally Available for Credit and for Free,” (2016), Healthcare, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hjdsi.2016.02.003; see also “Building Public Health Capacity through Online Global Learning,” (2018), Open Praxis, to see more research related to NextGenU.org’s educational model, check out NextGenU.org’s publication page. Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified of future updates, new courses, and to be part of our community.

    This course involves completing all modules which provide: 

    1. A basic diagnostic and treatment approach to common emergency department presentations,
    2. Skills on patient management and communication,
    3. An overview of common emergency diseases.


    Approximate time for completion of this course is 70 hours at an average reading rate of 144 words/minute.

    The course requires the completion of all peer activities. Mentored activities are optional. At the end of each lesson, there is a practice quiz. At the end of the course, after you’ve completed each lesson, quiz, and activity, you’ll have access to a final exam and a chance to assess the training. Once you’ve passed that last test, you will be able to download a certificate of completion from NextGenU.org and our course’s co-sponsoring organizations (listed above). We keep all of your personal information confidential, never sell any of your information, and only use anonymized data for research purposes. We are also happy to report your testing information and share your work with anyone (your school, employer, etc.) at your request. We hope that you will find this a rewarding learning experience, and we count on your assessment and feedback to help us improve this training for future students.

    Engaging with this Course: 

    You may browse this course for free to learn for your personal enrichment; there are no requirements.

    To obtain a certificate
    • Show in the registration fields that you have the appropriate prerequisites to be certified. This course requires a college-level degree.
    • Complete all the reading requirements.
    • Complete all quizzes.
    • Complete 5 peer activity and associated certification quizzes.
    • Successfully complete the final exam with a minimum of 70%  and a maximum of 3 attempts.
    • Complete the self and course evaluation forms.

    To obtain credit 
    • Complete all requirements listed above for the certificate. 
    • Your learning institution or workplace should approve the partner-university-sponsored NextGenU.org course for educational credit, as they would for their learner taking a course anywhere.  
      • NextGenU.org is happy to provide your institution with:
        • a link to and description of the course training, so they can see all its components, including the cosponsoring universities and other professional organization cosponsors; 
        • your grade on the final exam;
        • your work products (e.g. peer and mentored activities), and any other required or optional shared materials that you produce and authorize to share with them;  
        • your evaluations;
        • a copy of your certificate of completion, with the co-sponsoring universities and other organizations listed.


    To obtain a degree co-sponsored with NextGenU.org, registrants must be enrolled in a degree program as a student of a NextGenU.org institutional partner. If you think that your institution might be interested in offering a degree with NextGenU.org contact us.

    We hope that you will find this a rewarding learning experience, and we count on your assessment and feedback to help us improve this training for future students.

    Next Steps

    • Complete the registration form.
    • Begin the course with Module 1
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Understand medical history taking and physical examination.
    • Recognize immediate life-threatening conditions.
    • Know patient management skills.
    • Understand health promotion for the patient.
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Learn humanistic qualities.
    • Know presentation skills.
    • Understand medical record documentation.
    • Effectively use information technology.
    • Establish a work ethic.
    • Practice ethical decision-making.
    • Practice professional behavior.
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Students should develop a differential diagnosis that is prioritized on potential life-threatening conditions and the likelihood of disease. Students should demonstrate a knowledge (or understanding) of basic diagnostic modalities and interpretation of results. Most importantly, students should cultivate an appreciation of risk stratification and pretest probabilities for selected conditions.
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Perform the procedures listed in the Data supplement S2 of the Emergency Medicine Clerkship Curriculum. In addition to proper technique, the focus should be given to recognizing the indications, contraindications, and complications associated with each. The student should be able to discuss aftercare and reasons to return for further evaluation with the patient.
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Recognize when patients should be appropriately referred to the emergency department.
    • Recognize the role of the emergency department in the community, including access to care and its impact on patient care.
    • Understand the indications, costs, risks, and evidence behind commonly performed emergency department diagnostic procedures.
    • Recognize the importance of arranging appropriate follow-up plans for patients being discharged from the emergency department.
  • To take the final exam, you must complete all quizzes and complete all the required activities. 

    To access the exam, click on the name of the exam provided above. On the following screen, click the Attempt Quiz button to respond to the questions.

  • In this section, you can provide feedback about this course to help us make NextGenU.org better. Once evaluations are completed, you will be able to download your certificate of completion.