The Future of Nursing report¹ underscores the belief that nurses can play a vital role in patient care outcomes. Among many things, the report discusses nurses practicing to the fullest extent of their education, nurse/physician collaboration, and team approaches. The issues addressed in the report are relevant at all levels of nursing but have unique implications for nurse practitioners (NPs). As the debate continues about scope-of-practice standards and boundaries for NPs, one thing is clear: NPs are increasingly becoming employed in the acute care setting.