INTRODUCTION Today the American healthcare system is ready for important and radical changes linked to the enactment and implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (IO,2010). As stated in an IOM report titled “The Future of Nursing: Driving Change, Promoting Health,” nurses, who make up the largest portion of our country's healthcare workforce, have the opportunity to play a fundamental and influential role in this transformation, while expanding at the same time. and optimize your contribution to healthcare. The report focuses on several key points that would enable nurses to meet future challenges, in particular by achieving higher levels of education while creating an improved system for advancing skills and knowledge, practicing at the highest level of their education and training with expanded roles in primary care and growing leadership roles through collaboration with physicians, other healthcare professionals and policy makers who will shape the new healthcare landscape (IOM2010). MLA Citation and APA Citation, www.antiessays.comBODYA Numerous barriers prevent nurses from being able to respond effectively to rapidly changing healthcare settings and an evolving healthcare system. These barriers must be overcome to ensure that nurses are well positioned to drive change and advance health. Accordingly, the IOM report determined that nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. It also suggested that the percentage of nurses with a bachelor's degree should increase by 2020 (IOM2010). The US healthcare system was built primarily around the treatment of acute illnesses and injuries, the major healthcare challenges of the early 20th century and... .... at the center of the paper......personal and professional growth through the development of leadership skills and exercising these skills in all care contexts. (IOM) CONCLUSION With more than 3 million members, the nursing profession is the largest segment of the nation's healthcare workforce. Working on the front lines of patient care, nurses have a direct effect on patient care. Their regular, close proximity to patients and scientific understanding of care processes across the care continuum gives them a unique ability to effect far-reaching change in the healthcare system. Nurses must be prepared to meet the diverse needs of patients; function as a leader; and advance science to benefit patients and the ability of healthcare providers to provide safe, quality patient-centered care. If new nurses are to succeed in this complex and evolving healthcare system, nursing education must be transformed. (IMO).