The light of emergency medicine: Vietnam-the next chapter in the global history of emergency medicine?

The following is the keynote address to the First Emergency Medicine Conference in Vietnam, held in the historic city of Hue, March 22-26, 2010. This presentation reviewed the global history of emergency medicine (EM) and presented the need for the establishment of EM residency programs in Vietnam in a culturally sensitive manner. Immediately following this presentation, the Deputy Minister of Health for Vietnam announced recognition of EM as a specialty in Vietnam, and the establishment of EM residency programs, with the first starting October 1, 2010, in association with the Hue College of Medicine.