The National Conference for Nurse Practitioners (NCNP), sponsored by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, the publisher of The Nurse Practitioner Journal, is well under way at the Las Vegas Hilton. NCNP began on Wednesday, May 11 with a keynote address on The Implication of Health Care Reform for Nurse Practitioners by Eileen T. O'Grady, PhD, RN. Dr. O'Grady is a visiting professor at Pace University's Graduate School of Nursing in New York City where she teaches health policy. Her energizing presentation outlined the many opportunities that nurse practitioners have in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 including funding for education and nurse managed clinics.

Also at NCNP, the conference chairperson, Margaret A. Fitzgerald, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP presented the Nurse Practitioner of theYear Award to Margaret L. Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Professor at Wayne State University. Dr. Campbell is noteworthy for her contributions, not only to nursing, but to health care for her pioneering work in the palliative care specialty.

Through Saturday, May 14 nurse practitioners will engage in hands-on workshops to build skills in common office procedures, orthopedic procedures, dermatology procedures, and suturing. Participants will also update their practice at numerous sessions on the latest evidence-based diagnostic and treatment recommendations for acute and chronic care for patient populations from children through older adults. For more information about the National Conference for Nurse Practitioners, visit www.ncnpconference.com.