Why a Trump plan to exclude nursing from ‘professional’ degree list sparks outrage
WASHINGTON— A coalition of nursing and other healthcare organizations is angry at a Trump administration proposal that could limit access to federal loans for some students seeking graduate degrees because the government would no longer label those students’ education as “professional” programs.
Without such a designation from the U.S. Department of Education, students with master’s degrees in nursing and at least seven other fields, including social work and education, would face stricter federal student loan limits.
The renewal is part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress and is sparking outrage and confusion, especially among nurses who are reacting online. Some social media posts amplified misinformation about the changes, which led the Department of Education to release these changes. “Myth and Fact” explainer About the proposed changes.
But he did little to quell the anger. Nurses and others affected not only oppose the potential limitations of borrowing for educational purposes to advance their careers, but also perceive the move as a semantic affront that disrespects the intensive training required to gain professional qualifications.
An Instagram user — a self-identified registered nurse — who has more than 250,000 followers on the platform — said she plans to go to graduate school to become a nurse practitioner, but offered credit limits could put that out of reach. “They don’t want us to continue our education,” he said. “They want women to be barefoot and pregnant.”
Nurse Susan Pratt, who is also president of a union representing nurses in Toledo, Ohio, called the move “a slap in the face.”
“Nurses came during the pandemic and this is the gratitude we received,” she said.
The Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment on the proposed rule changes. But the person who made the statement said “progressive voices” were “fearmongering” and spreading “misinformation” about the changes.
The Trump administration has said caps on graduate school loans are needed to reduce tuition costs and believes caps on student loans would push universities to charge higher-than-average tuition.
What counts as a ‘professional’ program?
While graduate students were previously able to receive loans equal to the cost of their degree, the new rules will set upper limits depending on whether the degree is considered a graduate or professional program. In programs without a “professional” designation, students will be limited to borrowing up to $20,500 per year and $100,000 total.
Students in a designated professional program will be able to borrow up to $50,000 per year and $200,000 total.
To define what counts as a professional program, the department turned to the 1965 law governing student financial aid. The law includes several examples of professional degrees, but says it is not a comprehensive list. On the contrary, the Trump administration’s proposal states that only the degrees specified in the new regulation can be counted as professional programs.
The Department of Education will identify the following fields as professional programs: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, and theology.
Non-healthcare fields such as nursing, physical therapy, dental hygiene, occupational therapy and social work were also excluded, as were architecture, education and accounting.
By 2022, one-sixth of the nation’s registered nurses had a master’s degree, according to the American Assn. Schools of Nursing.
The federal fact sheet noted that “professional degree” is an internal definition it uses only “to distinguish between programs that qualify for higher loan limits.” This is “not a value judgment about the importance of programs… It has nothing to do with whether a program is inherently professional or not.”
Federal rules go into effect in July, but can still be changed by the Department of Education after public comment.
Nursing leaders condemn change
Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Assn., condemned the proposed changes, saying they would further widen an already painful shortage of advanced practice nurses whose roles require a master’s degree. Among them are nurse practitioners who can diagnose diseases and write prescriptions.
“Nurse practitioners provide the largest number of primary care services in the United States,” he said. “We have a problem in primary care right now and we will continue” [to have one]. “We will no longer fully allow nurse practitioners to receive the funding they need.”
Kennedy said the new rules will further exacerbate the nursing shortage in California and across the country because in many cases a doctoral degree is required to teach other nurses.
“We are short by more than 2,000 nursing faculty in the United States,” she said. “So this has a downward spiral effect.”
But the Ministry of Education “Myth and Fact” page, The report, published on Monday, argued that its data showed “95% of nursing students borrowed below the annual loan limit and were therefore not affected by the new caps.”
“In addition, placing a cap on loans will force remaining graduate nursing programs to reduce program costs and ensure that nurses will not be saddled with unmanageable student loan debt,” the department said.
Kennedy said it will be very difficult for graduate nursing programs to reduce costs because of the focus on hands-on education. “I’m not exactly sure where schools in the nursing field should make cuts, because faculty are already underpaid and their workloads are at a point where the public is safe in training new nurses,” she said.
Lin Zhan, dean of the UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing, said the proposed changes were “extremely concerning” and urged policymakers to reject them.
“We cannot afford to create barriers that limit entry and growth in this important profession, and any policy changes must prioritize expanding access and enabling professional nurses to practice with knowledge and compassion,” Zhan said. “Graduate-educated nurses play a critical role in healthcare. … Their expertise is vital, especially as care becomes more complex and patients’ needs increase.”
A coalition of health organizations also called on the Department of Education to change course, noting that the excluded areas are largely filled by women. Women made up nearly three-quarters of full-time, year-round healthcare workers in the U.S., and held a much higher share of jobs like dentistry and medical assistants, according to a 2019 report from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Deborah Trautman, president of the American Assn. The Colleges of Nursing said in a statement to The Times that “lowering the federal student loan limit for nurses with master’s and doctoral degrees would likely deter many from furthering their education.”
“Yet nurses prepared at these levels are essential to the workforce as advanced practice nurses, faculty, researchers and expert clinicians,” he said.
Associated Press reporters Collin Binkley and John Seewer contributed to this story.
