The purpose of the "Emergency Medicine & Acute Care" course series, now is the identification of important review articles and studies that address emergency medicine topics but might be published in journals directed at other specialties, and the dissemination of this important information to the Emergency Medicine community in a comprehensive and cohesive format in an effort to close the research-to-practice gap. The course is designed to enhance the practitioner's knowledge of the emergency medicine literature, thereby improving both the competence and performance of clinicians providing emergency care in the formulation of strategies to optimize patient outcomes.