Indianapolis oncologist Laura Vater, MD, MPH said the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to reclassify nursing degrees will limit loans for nurses, who she says are critical to the U.S. workforce.
“Nurses stay when others leave,” Vater posted on X. “Anyone who knows a nurse knows they are not only a key health care ‘professional’ but critical to our workforce.”
“The Department of Education announced that nursing is no longer a ‘professional degree,’” said Vater. “This will limit the loans they can access.”
The U.S. Department of Education this month revised its definition of “professional degree” programs and removed nursing from that category. Students pursuing advanced nursing degrees will no longer qualify for the higher federal loan limits traditionally available to programs recognized as professional degrees, reported Nurse.com.
The change also affects eligibility for certain borrowing and forgiveness programs tied to professional status. Newsweek reported that degrees such as medicine, dentistry, law and pharmacy remain within the designation, while nursing does not. The revisions are part of a broader federal higher education reform package scheduled to take effect for new borrowers on July 1, 2026.
Nursing organizations and education groups have warned the change could worsen existing workforce shortages. Rural and underserved regions, which rely heavily on advanced practice nurses, may feel the impact most acutely if fewer students pursue graduate nursing programs, reported WKYT.
Dr. Laura B. Vater, MD, MPH, is a gastrointestinal oncologist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. She practices at the Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and writes about clinician well being and narrative medicine and developed the SMILE Scale, a wellness tool for patients and clinicians, according to her website.
