The development of civilian emergency medical care during an insurgency: current status and future outlook in Iraq.

We review the development of civilian out-of-hospital and hospital-based emergency medical care in Iraq, focusing on the non-Kurdish regions. Emergency medicine in the country has made encouraging steps during the last several years, including the establishment of national emergency medicine policy, the training of out-of-hospital caregivers, the education of physicians currently working in Iraqi emergency departments, and the development of emergency medicine residency programs, among others. The utilization of a national Emergency Medicine Working Group has been a key resource in the development of emergency medicine in the country, a strategy we recommend to others aiding low- and middle-income nations. 2009 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.