The upcoming year will offer many opportunities and many changes. A new Obama administration could bring health coverage for all Americans, which will certainly lead to an increased demand for primary care services. Nurse practitioners are well-positioned to be the providers of choice for primary as well as acute care through their own practices, their partnerships with physicians and other health care providers and through the growing array of retail health clinics.

The new year also might usher in additional incentives and laws on health IT, such as a bigger push for the adoption of e-prescribing and electronic health records to improve quality and patient safety.

Technology and new programs will change the profession in other ways too. Consumers increasingly are taking their health into their own hands, through health savings accounts, employer wellness programs and the growing proliferation of medical information available online. NPs will become even more important as educators, helping patients sort through the information and make wise health care decisions.