Acknowledgments

We have many people to thank in helping us bring this project to fruition. First and foremost, this text would have never made it to print without the support and encouragement of our McGraw-Hill editor, Anne Sydor. Anne is a friend as much as an editor. She took a chance on us and for that we will always be grateful. One of Anne's many gifts has been providing us with such great editorial support in the form of Sarah M. Granlund. She has been the quarterback of this project from the onset, and without her planning and attention to detail, we would not be here today. We would also like to acknowledge our project manager, Charu Khanna, for her attention to detail during page proofs and willingness to go the extra mile.

We also want to thank our “bosses,” Jeff Schaider and Steve Bowman. Jeff is a constant source of enthusiasm for the academic project in whatever form makes his faculty happy. He is a mentor, role model, and friend to us all. Steve, our residency director, also deserves so much credit. He shoulders the burden of one of the largest residencies in the country in a way that allows his assistants to pursue the true pleasures of the academic job in emergency medicine. Thank you both.

Estella Bravo, Ethel Lee, Mishelle Taylor, Deloris Johnson, and Hilda Nino also deserve a load of credit for the support they provide in the offices. Estella has been the dream clerkship coordinator, managing 24 students per month with grace and determination. She sets the bar high and makes our students feel comfortable during their time with us. For those who consider becoming a clerkship director one day, the most important consideration is making sure you have someone like Estella at the reins of the coordinator position.

Several groups of people also deserve high praise. Our authors have turned in an outstanding product, making the job of editing so much easier. We have tried to assemble an “all-star” group of contributors, and based on what came back to us, we were not disappointed. We all benefit from the hard work and expertise of our authors after “too many years to count” spent working in emergency departments and educating eager learners in the field. We also want to acknowledge our students and residents. You folks are the driving force behind all of our efforts. You inspire, test, and humble us on a daily basis. Lastly, and most importantly, we would like to thank our patients. We learn what our patients teach us, and so any learning we have accomplished over the years is attributed to them. They are the true educators of emergency medicine, and we owe them a debt of gratitude.