Professional Degrees

The Trump Department of Education recently released a “Myth vs. Fact” sheet defending the President’s decision to remove graduate nursing programs from the “professional degree” category — a change that lowers federal loan limits for aspiring nurse practitioners and other advanced-practice nurses. The Department insists this shift is merely administrative, not a statement about the value of nurses.

But no explanation changes the practical reality: at a time when nursing homes are dangerously understaffed, anything that makes advanced nursing education harder to access is a step in the wrong direction.

In long-term care, advanced-practice nurses are not optional. They are the providers who catch early signs of sepsis, prevent pressure-ulcer injuries, supervise aides, manage medications, stabilize residents during crises, and train the workforce beneath them. They are often the difference between a resident recovering — or suffering preventable harm.

Lower loan caps mean fewer future NPs, fewer wound-care specialists, fewer clinical leaders, and fewer educators preparing the next generation of nurses. Meanwhile, facilities already struggle to meet even the lowest acceptable staffing standards, and our firm sees the consequences every day: falls, infections, untreated wounds, dehydration, and deaths that never should have happened.

The Department argues that this policy aligns with new federal student loan rules and may curb tuition inflation. But that ignores the real-world cost: residents in nursing homes will suffer when the pipeline of highly trained nurses shrinks. Families expect skilled, attentive care for their loved ones — not a system where advanced nursing roles become harder to enter because federal aid has been dialed back.

No matter how the Department frames it, this change threatens to widen the gap between what vulnerable residents need and what the long-term care system is actually capable of providing. At a time when we need more advanced-practice nurses than ever, this policy makes it harder, not easier, for them to step into these critical roles.