Nursing Is a 'Professional Degree'
As an Organizational Affiliate of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and a member of the Nursing Community Coalition, AMSN encourages every nurse to sign on and share ANA’s petition that Nursing IS a Professional Degree.
H.R. 1 established new federal loan eligibility and caps that are managed through the Department of Education. The Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) committee within the department recommended two designations, professional and graduate degrees, each with specific loan caps:
• Graduate loan caps: $20,500 annual/$100,000 total
• Professional loan caps: $50,000 annual/$200,000 total
The committee used a long-standing definition of "professional degree," which does not include nursing. The Department of Education did not update the federal definition of “professional degree” to exclude nursing — the definition never included it, as it came from a 1965 federal law. This means graduate nursing students would now only be eligible for half the amount of federal loans as graduate medical students.
“Nursing has evolved greatly since 1965. The science of nursing is complex and as we encourage nurses to advance in their education, having access to federal loan programs is essential to advance care nurses provide to the public," AMSN President Dr. Kristi Reguin-Hartman, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, states.
As the ANA stated, “Access to robust education pathways, including the full range of federal student loans, is essential to growing and sustaining the workforce amidst staffing shortages.” It is vital to ensure we maintain the variety of entry points into nursing. AMSN supports the inclusion of all nursing degrees in the eligibility criteria for professional loans under this program.
Take Action Today
1. Sign the Petition