title: Nurse practitioner: reflecting on the future.
abstract: The role of the nurse practitioner was first conceptualized in the late 1960s. Today, there are approximately 70,000 nurse practitioners in practice, they receive third-party insurance reimbursements, and they are in many specialty practices, as well as working in primary care practices promoting health and disease prevention. In the future, economics will shape our health care industry, placing a greater demand for nurse practitioners in this trillion-dollar marketplace. This article explores the evolving role of the nurse practitioner in education, practice, and research to meet the challenges of the health care needs into the 21st century.
authors.affiliation: Family Nurse Practitioner Program, Department of Nursing, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Alpert
authors.forename: Andra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fjone
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Candela
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007355:Insurance, Nursing Services; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000639:trends*; D015399:Nursing Research; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States