Summary:
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Outrage in nursing world as Trump’s bill reclassifies nursing, limiting access to federal loans and forgiveness programs.
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Nursing organizations and community push back, calling move insulting and threatening to patient care and progress.
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Critics warn of worsening nursing shortage as advocacy groups urge Department of Education to reverse course by July 2026.
There’s major outrage in the nursing world over President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which reclassifies nursing as not a professional degree. This means nurse practitioners and graduate nursing students lose access to the highest federal loan limits and some loan forgiveness programs, making advanced degrees more expensive and, for some, financially out of reach.
Nursing organizations and the broader community are pushing back, calling the move a “gut punch” that insults the profession, threatens patient access, and undermines decades of progress. With the U.S. already facing a nursing shortage, critics warn that limiting educational opportunities could worsen the crisis, and advocacy groups are urging the Department of Education to reverse course before the rules take effect in July 2026.
