Medical Administrators Network

So much negative stuff about what Trump supposedly said or is doing about the nursing profession. So I dug.

Here is the clear, simple truth, without media spin and without misunderstanding:

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✅ 1. No one is saying “nursing is not a professional career.”

Not Trump, not DOE, not the rule writers.

Nursing is a profession
Nursing licensure, standards, education, and regulatory status do not change under this proposal.

The confusion comes from a financial-aid classification called “professional degree programs.”
This is only about student loan categories—not about professional respect, licensure, or clinical status.

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✅ 2. What the DOE is REALLY doing

The Department of Education is redefining which academic programs qualify for “professional-degree loan limits.”

They are not defining which jobs are “professional careers.”

They are defining which programs can access the highest federal borrowing limits.

These high-limit “professional degree loans” will now be reserved for:
• MD / DO
• DDS / DMD
• JD (law)
• PharmD
• DVM
• OD
• DC
• PsyD
• etc.

Nursing programs were not added to the high-limit category, so they default to the standard graduate-loan limits, not the “professional” loan limits.

That’s it.

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✅ 3. Why the DOE is doing it

This is the key point you sensed:

✔ It is NOT about nursing.

✔ It IS about controlling runaway tuition and loan amounts.

The DOE wants to stop:
• colleges from charging whatever they want
• students from borrowing unlimited amounts for ANY master’s program
• massive debt from schools with poor cost-to-salary outcomes

So they created a small, tightly-defined “professional” category with higher loan limits — mostly programs that require doctorate-level training, often 6+ years post-secondary, and have very high earning potential (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law).

Graduate nursing programs (MSN, DNP, NP, etc.) are still respected — they simply do not meet the new borrowing-limit definition.

👇 This is the problem the DOE is trying to stop:

A for-profit or private college may charge $100,000 for a nursing degree,
while another reputable school charges $35,000 for the same ASN/BSN/MSN.

Under the old rules:
• BOTH students could borrow very high amounts.
• Schools could raise prices with no limit because the federal loans would cover it.

DOE wants to stop this pattern.

Under the new rule:
• High loan limits only go to the “professional degree list.”
• Nursing students get standard graduate loan limits.
• This puts financial pressure on high-priced nursing programs to stop raising tuition.

In simpler language:

🚫 “We aren’t saying nursing isn’t a profession.”
✔ “We are saying nursing programs cannot be allowed to charge unlimited money just because students can borrow unlimited money.”

This is a tuition-control mechanism.

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✅ 5. Bottom Line (Crystal Clear)

❌ Nursing is not being downgraded.

❌ Nursing is not being called “non-professional.”

❌ Trump or DOE did not make a negative statement about the career.

✔ Nursing programs are still respected, licensed, and professional.

✔ The DOE simply did not put them in the “special high-loan program” category.

✔ This is meant to stop colleges from price-gouging nursing students.

NHCLA ~ Affiliate of Medical Administrators Network ~ is celebrating its 10-year Anniversary! Stay tuned for the launch of our new website coming this month!

Look for New membership information and renewals coming in the weeks ahead!

If you are interested in becoming a committee member, we are looking for you!

LOL