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Harold A. (Hal) Thomas, M.D., FACEP, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, has assumed the office of President of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM).  Dr. Thomas has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2001 and has served ABEM in many capacities since 1983, including editing the annual in-training examination, and serving as an oral examiner, and item writer.  He chairs the Residency Visitation Program Task Force and the EM Model Review Task Force.  Dr. Thomas also represents ABEM as a representative to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and as a director liaison to the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Subboard.   Dr. Thomas is senior editor of Emergency Medicine: Self-Assessment and Review.  He is a reviewer for three major specialty journals in Emergency Medicine.  Dr. Thomas’ contributions to the scientific advancement of the specialty include over 100 presentations, peer reviewed journal articles, and textbooks.  His area of special interest is shift work and circadian rhythms.

Dr. Thomas received his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1976 and subsequently completed residencies in Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University and Emergency Medicine at  Denver General Hospital.  Dr. Thomas served as residency director for over 15 years and is currently Professor of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland Oregon.   The American Board of Emergency Medicine establishes the credentialing requirements and examinations to evaluate physicians who seek certification in Emergency Medicine.  The first examination was administered in 1980.  As of December 2007, ABEM has certified 24,332 physicians.