The Association of Emergency Physicians (AEP) is a professional organization of emergency medicine

Emergency medicine

Emergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...

 physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

s. It was founded in 1991 and offers membership to any practicing emergency physician regardless of training. Therefore, it is more inclusive than its counterparts ACEP

American College of Emergency Physicians

The American College of Emergency Physicians is the first and largest professional organization of emergency medicine physicians in the United States. It was founded in 1968 and is now headquartered in Irving, Texas. As of 2009 ACEP has over 28,000 physician members.The college exists to support...

 and ACOEP

American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians

The American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians is a professional organization of emergency medicine physicians. It was founded in 1975, seven years after the oldest and largest organization, ACEP...

. AEP acknowledges that a portion of currently practicing emergency physicians in the United States entered the field of emergency medicine prior to the establishment of formal training programs. It has members in 45 states.