Abstract
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the aging U.S. population have created a substantial shortage of primary care providers. Nurse practitioners (NPs) provide a cost-effective solution to meet this growing demand; however, the professional development and mentoring needs of NPs have not been clearly defined. This quantitative descriptive study assessed the professional development and mentorship needs of NPs as a first step toward development of effective programs to meet those needs.