title: Reflections on 50 years of change.
abstract: In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first nurse practitioner (NP) program in the United States, Dr. Loretta Ford offers these reflections on the progress of NPs in the past half century.
authors.affiliation: Co-Founder of the first NP Program at the University of Colorado, Denver, CO.|Founding Dean and Professor Emeritus, University of Rochester School of Nursing, Rochester, NY.
authors.forename: Loretta C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Ford
mesh_terms: D000846:Anniversaries and Special Events; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000266:history*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D014481:United States
keywords: NP programs; Nurse practitioner; founder of NP role; history