Why is ED so disrespected?

Crit care➕

I am not a critical care doctor. I am a consultant in a medical specialty.

Why does it feel that most people here put anaesthetics and ICU on a pedestal above ED?

I agree that ICU will have, by far, the most amount of extremely sick adult patients.

However, I believe that at a consultant level, ED is better at managing extremely sick people than anaesthetics. They will see, manage and resuscitate more of these patients per week than your average anaesthetist will.

ED are really good critical care specialists. They also manage many things your average ICU physician would be lost at. Paediatrics being a big example.

This is not to say there is a clear 1-2-3 order among them. They all bring their own strengths and expertise. It is just confusing to me. I have had ICU and anaesthetics doctors smirk when I mention there are 3 critical care specialties. Why does ED get less recognition compared to the other 2 specialties in critical care?

It can't be the job prospects or pay, because ICU is the worst on average there. It can't be wanting to be the hero, because despite their skill, anaesthetics is not the lead doctor in a clinical scenario 99% of the time. Yes, we know they are the unsung clinicians in the background making sure people don't die during surgery. But they aren't like most traditional doctors where we will see someone, diagnose, investigate, manage and follow up on a routine basis.