Long before the Affordable Care Act became law, major changes were brewing in the U.S. healthcare system. The aging population, advances in technology and research, escalating healthcare costs and an epidemic of chronic illness have forced all of us in healthcare to step back and reevaluate virtually everything we have been doing. Examining our healthcare practices will help us find better and more cost-effective ways of delivering quality care and improving the health of the nation. As a nurse and Nurse.com career columnist on the nursing profession, I believe the ACA is accelerating that needed reinvention and implementation — and other career experts agree.