Nursing Is No Longer Counted as a 'Professional Degree' by Trump Admin

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Nov 20, 2025 at 09:15 AM EST updated Nov 20, 2025 at 02:22 PM EST


The Department of Education has excluded nursing as a "professional degree" program as it sets about implementing various measures regarding student loans laid out in President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill." The move has sparked significant uproar among nurses and nursing groups, with the American Nurses Association saying, as reported by Nursing World, that "limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care."

In the regulatory definition of a professional degree (34 CFR 668.2) from 1965, nursing was not definitively listed as a professional degree, although the text lists a number of professions, but says a professional degree is "not limited to" those mentioned.

It is therefore not clear in the text if nursing was previously classified as a professional degree, but now that the term it is forming part of student loan determinations, its omission is having an impact. Newsweek has contacted the Department of Education via email for comment.

Why It Matters

The change will impact hundreds of thousands of students—there are over 260,000 students currently enrolled in entry-level Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs and around 42,000 enrolled in Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), according to data collected by the American Nurses Association.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/nursing-not-professional-degree-trump-admin-11079650

[Alice B.]

1. WTAF.

[NotHardly]

10. Seriously, WTAF

Trump's new way of brining back the "Death Panels" by shrinking the profession that actually care for patients. What a stinking piggy.

[rampartd]

2. Of course nurses are professionals

but they may want to give student loans for technical degrees while excluding professional ones.

the underlying question : why the hell do make nurses pay for their education? really needs an answer.

[yardwork]

31. That IS a good question!

I feel that a functional society would pay nurses, fire fighters, teachers, EMTs, trash collectors, and other essential jobs very well.

Let CEOs work for low wages since they seem to enjoy it so much.

Our priorities are screwed up.

[rampartd]

34. i would put teachers on the same pay scale as linebackers.

revisiting my first reply, doctors are professional by any standard, i think we need them too.

in state public university should be free to every citizen, [aid by years of service on completion,

when they complain about women's studies majors and such, they never complain about degrees in "divinity" or "theology"

[popsdenver]

41. It is time the nurses stood up to this bullshit

Dem Nurses AND MAGA Nurses.........go out on strike all across the nation, for just one day, to start. Make the administration change bedpans... And all nurses join one major Union......

[mucifer]

3. I'm a nurse and I have had maga coworkers. I wonder what kinda

knots they are tying themselves into to excuse this crap!

[3catwoman3]

33. If you get any interesting explanations from them, please post about it.

That would surely require some pretzel-esque rationalization.

[AllyCat]

74. Just said the same below without reading your post. Sorry I missed it.

A bunch I work with actually voted for this $hit$how. Wonder how they will get the mental gymnastics working to make this out as a good thing, but also Biden's fault.

[hlthe2b]

4. DIsgusting. I hope he and all his admin are cared for by whatever person they can find sans any training

whatsoever, maybe sleeping off a bender under a bridge--rather than a well trained nurse. Or maybe not even THAT (the former)

I fear I am running low on disgust, but he'll surely give me more tomorrow.

[Submariner]

5. It sounds like another Project 2025 pursuit

to disadvantage women who they want home raising babies and making cookies instead of improving their lot in life. Scumbag fascist movement.

[Jilly_in_VA]

9. Men are nurses too

in case they hadn't notices. A LOT of them! And they are going to be pissed off!

[IronLionZion]

20. MAGA don't care

If they know or perceive that a field is majority women, they think it's a fake job that shouldn't exist. So they happily screw nurses and claim it's "fraud, waste, and abuse" because they don't like the nursing field.

[DBoon]

42. MAGA would say they aren't real men

Real men work as plumbers or truck drivers, not "nurses"

[FakeNoose]

6. "Presidenting" is no longer considered a professional job

More than 50% of the American public just decided and we're his boss.

We'll pay Chump by the hour, he needs to punch a clock. We're cutting back on his hours. When he goes below 35 hours, no more benefits for him. Medical and dental insurance is gone. He pays rent while he stays in the White House, otherwise just move out. Pay for your own transportation too, and McDonald's isn't free.

[llmart]

15. As far as I can tell...

He has never once put in anywhere near 35 hours. He's basically a lazy pig. Take all his benefits away immediately.

[mwmisses4289]

52. Now that is insulting to real pigs!

[llmart]

60. I know. Pigs are actually cuter than him.

[RazorbackExpat]

62. He's a pig

like Napoleon in "Animal Farm"

[Jilly_in_VA]

65. A lot smarter, too

Pigs are very intelligent animals, possibly smarter than dogs.

[llmart]

72. No way.

Did you ever tell a pig to "sit"? They would think you said "shit" because that's what they do a lot of.

Speaking of pig shit....how is Trumpie today?

[Jilly_in_VA]

76. Pigs can be trained

Many pot-bellied pigs (the kind most commonly seen as pets) are trained to use litterboxes and are otherwise housebroken, walk on leashes, sit and stay on command, etc. The farm animals can be too if you start young enough, but most people just think of them as food. However, they are intelligent. Wnen my dad was in Mexico, he came across a guy who had a pet pig he had trained to perform tricks, one of which was sitting on her hind legs with a swugar cube on her nose while he said grace. She wouldn't move until he said "Amen" and then she would bounce it off and eat it.

[Silent Type]

7. They'll change their mind in a few days.

[Jilly_in_VA]

8. SERIOUSLY, YOU ASSHOLES?

Just wait till the next time any of you get sick! You'll see just how professional we are!

Arnold Schwarzenegger found out a little bit about that in California when the legislature wanted to pass a law increasing the nurse-patient ratio from 4:1 to either 5:1 or 6:1, I forget which. He was more or less in favor of it until he got a severe bout of gastroenteritis which landed him in the hospital and he saw exactly how hard the nurses were working with 4 patients each. When he got out he told the lawmakers to back the hell off (pretty much his words).

Nurses ARE professionals and you had better believe it! They are going to hear about this. Contact your senators and congresscritters TODAY!

[yardwork]

30. Nursing is the most trusted profession.

Nurses are admired and appreciated by all normal human beings.

For some reason RFK, Jr. wants to get rid of nurses and replace them with AI.

[Jilly_in_VA]

48. Let's see how fast AI can get you your pain meds

or change your IV when your old one infiltrated, or help turn you when you're too heavy for the CNA to turn by herself, or assess your burns when it changes your dressing, or help the docs in the cath lab or the OR, or catch a baby who's coming too fast for the doctor to get there, or a hundred other little things nurses do that AI just CAN'T. AI has no hands, just for starters....

[yardwork]

49. They claim they're Making America Healthy Again but it's a scam.

RFK, Jr. and Trump's other cronies think they'll make billions and it's all they care about.

They can't imagine doing the selfless hard work of nursing. That's why they don't respect it. They can't understand integrity, sacrifice, or a desire to do good.

They are monsters. I don't know why people voted for them. It makes me sad and sick.

Thank you for what you do!

[PatrickforB]

11. Shooting the healthcare sector in the foot, I'd say, since Registered Nurses are always the #1 job posted,

at least in my area. Postings for RNs exceed every other job. But then, this administration is trying to wreck, not build.

[patphil]

12. An RN is considered a professional degree.

Last edited Fri Nov 21, 2025, 07:14 PM - Edit history (1)

An LPN isn't.
Sigh, just for clarification, this is the Trump administration viewpoint.

[Wiz Imp]

27. The Trump administration disagrees

[patphil]

45. Trump and I don't agree about much. Mainly because he's ignorant and I'm not.

[AllyCat]

75. Do you agree that nurses are not professionals?

I know many LPNs who are definitely professionals and their skills are in high demand.

[patphil]

80. I didn't say that was my view, that's how it's defined.

And, I didn't imply I agreed with Trump here, I don't.

[AllyCat]

81. Okay, thank you for clarifying.

[patphil]

83. Yeah, I wasn't really clear enough...one of the problems with the written word.

[AllyCat]

85. Happens to us all. That's why I asked.

✌️

[Irish_Dem]

13. Obviously trying to ruin healthcare.

[OldBaldy1701E]

50. Well, for all but his cronies and himself.

THEY get plenty of great healthcare while we slowly die of things that could be treated, but cost too much.

And, we are still allowing it to happen. I wonder why? (Rhetorical... I feel that I know why...)

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. What a load of bull.

[twodogsbarking]

16. If it were that easy to be a nurse there wouldn't be a shortage and a projected shortage for years to come.

It is not easy.

[valleyrogue]

38. Neither is teaching.

They are very, very hard jobs but are intrinsically rewarding. Therefore, they have to be treated like shit in a patriarchy since they are female-dominated occupations, and Trump piles on.

Somehow I think the Trump administration will backtrack.

[Beartracks]

17. Don't need nurses in a Republican future with no healthcare.

It fits their healthcare plan, which is simply: "Just die already."

===========

[mcar]

18. Can't have them wimmenz think they're better

Or some other such sexist and racist shite.

[Vinca]

19. Talk about making a bad situation much, much worse. There is a shortage of nurse as it is!

[IronLionZion]

21. MAGA health plan is "die quickly"

so maybe they expect fewer patients in the MAGA future, and therefore fewer nurses needed.

[ismnotwasm]

22. Fuck

Literally with a bunch of nurses right now. We all hate this.

[BumRushDaShow]

25. Was literally thinking about you too

when I saw this!

They are leaving no stone unturned

[valleyrogue]

23. So much of what doctors used to do has been delegated to nursing professionals.

This is more denigrating of a female-dominated profession.

Assholes.

[3catwoman3]

35. When I was in my peds NP program in 1975, our instructors had this advice...

...if doctors gave us any crap about doing things that only doctors had previously been allowed to do - "Remind them that in the early days of medicine, doctors had to take the blood pressures because it was thought that this task required a judgement that was beyond nursing skills."

[Fla Dem]

24. One more middle finger to women. God forbid they should get a professional degree in medicine.

How ridiculous.

[Bev54]

26. So there has been a number of US nurses who have been recruited in Canada, I wonder if those

considering nursing as a profession will try to get their education in Canada or some other country, where they will not have such large student loans.

[Wiz Imp]

28. They really are determined to kill millions of Americans....

[yardwork]

29. The hell they say!

They're trying to replace nurses with AI. RFK, Jr. keeps saying this. He hates nurses for some reason.

[DiverDave]

32. Thats just great

Make it harder to get competent care when you need it most.
Just makes me shake my head.
I'll never forget the kind nurse that helped me when I was in agonizing pain.

[LuvLoogie]

36. They're also eliminating teaching and social work degrees

Occupational and physical therapy degrees. A bunch more.

[mdbl]

37. Newsweek has contacted the Department of Education via email for comment.

ROFLMAO. What Dept of Education?

[Martin68]

39. Trump doe not have a proffesional degree, so he's just jealous.

[Martin68]

40. Denigrating and demoting the status of nursing as a profession is unconscionable, but I'd like to point out that nursing

is not the exclusive domain of women. There are around 600,000 male nurses in the U.S. Designating the profession of nursing as a "women's profession" is what Trump wants to do, but not something we should do.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

43. You know

Nurses social workers ect. Are required to report evidence of abuse and sexual assault if they see evidence on a patient. I think there is a darker reason behind negating these sorts of degrees.

There are a lot of wanna be rapist incels in trumpville itching for vengeance. Rape is used by men as a weapon. And the Republican Party and the churches that support them are crawling with pedophiles. They want to sexually abuse and traumatize and face no consequences.

If I had anything to do with giving pedos and rapists consequences every rapist and pedo would be disarmed permanently, chop chop.

[Nigrum Cattus]

44. RN is a 5 year degree

they really are a death cult

[3catwoman3]

78. One can become an RN with a 2 yr ADN degree, a 4 yr BSN degree...

...or any of a number of accelerated degree programs for someone who already has a bachelor's in another discipline. Another path, hospital-affiliated 3 year diploma programs that did not offer college credits or grant a degree, are pretty much gone. Students from all preparations take the same licensing exam, something unique to the nursing profession, to the best of my knowledge.

Many roads to Rome.

[electric_blue68]

46. Geeeebbzzz, another WTF from me this DU session!

Damn him/them.

[returnee]

47. We should also consider...

…what insurance companies will do with this information as far as reimbursement for nursing, physician assistants, and physical therapists, who are also included in this de-professionalization.

[C_U_L8R]

51. I'd trade a nurse for many doctors

They are the backbone of healthcare.

[Hugin]

53. Yet second rate actors who pretend to wrestle on the tv machine are still called professionals.

Pathetic country we’ve got going here.

[Lovie777]

54. Lawsuits.....................

[Medical_Mom]

55. Not just nursing. Includes physician assistants (associates), psychology..

and other healthcare careers. This is a direct hit at female-dominated professions who are ALL mandated reporters of abuse. Also puts these professions out of reach for many minority students, underprivileged, etc.

I work on a national coalition looking at the healthcare worker shortage and we're already drafting a response and legislation to try to get through in the next session.

[Historic NY]

56. My niece has a Masters.

funny how the US Government requires a degree

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0600/nurse-series-0610/]

She is currently a Nurse III acting as a IV

[Bluetus]

57. That looks like a BS article

It doesn't actually say that anything has changed and it doesn't identify any real impact.

WYF?

[FakeNoose]

68. You need to read farther into the Newsweek article

It's about which types of students will qualify for future financial assistance in student loans.

In the One Big Beautiful Bill, the Grad PLUS program, designed to help graduate and professional students cover educational expenses, is being eliminated, while Parent PLUS loans, student loans available for parents of dependent undergraduate students, are being capped.

These measures were brought in with the intention of creating a "new and simplified" Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)—whereby annual loans for new borrowers were capped at $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students.

As part of this implementation process, the Department of Education decided to change the definition of what counted as a professional program, and therefore eligible for the $200,000 aggregate limit available for professional students.

The department determined that the following programs were professional: medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, law, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, theology and clinical psychology. This meant that physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physical therapists and audiologist were excluded from the list.

- more at link -

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

[Bluetus]

70. It says nothing.

It doesn't say that they are included. It doesn't say they are excluded. They could be included under "medical", as nursing is obviously medical.

Part of the issue is that over time, there have emerged many different levels of "nursing".

It used to be mainly just Registered Nurse or Licenced Practical Nurse. Now we have additional grades of Nurse Practitioner, which is allowed to perform many functions that a MD did in the past. And at the other end, we have CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistant). And there are probably other certifications I am unaware of. So it may simply be a question of where the line is drawn between professional and occupational.

I would not automatically assume that there is evil intent here, but there could be.

I hope this clears things up.

[CTyankee]

58. Another diversion by this creep. HE WANTS US MAD.

Let's not give it to him. He welcomes our anger. Let us respond by not getting all tied up with our anger so that we spend time on that instead of working to bring him down.

[Scrivener7]

59. My profession is also on the list. I would LOVE to see a few of those assholes go through the

program I went through to get my qualifications. I remember we had some bro-types in the program even back then because it seems superficially like it might be a macho kind of thing. It isn't, and the vast majority of the bros crashed out early because they couldn't hack it.

[Scrivener7]

61. An unstated but crucial point: these professions comprise the vast majority of mandated reporters of abuse.

If we have a dearth of these professions as a result of this (which we will because no one will have access to the loans required to get the degrees) we will see a surge in unreported abuse of children, the elderly and women.

I am sure that is a feature, not a bug, for the Party for Protection of Pedophiles.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

63. Accounting is now a five-year degree

I personally thought that the CPA was harder than the Bar Exam

Link to tweet

[Jilly_in_VA]

66. RISE UP!

It's time for everyone in these PROFESSIONS to make some noise and let these UNprofessionals know who's what!

I am a NURSE and I am a PROFESSIONAL! I may be retired, but once a NURSE, always a NURSE!

[Paladin]

64. I hope a considerable number of nurses have long, vengeful memories. (nt)

[pansypoo53219]

67. sexism de rigor for the fat piggy.

[thought crime]

69. In other news, "Up" is No Longer considered to be "Up" by Trump Admin

Trump Admin expected to take further action on "Down" later this week...




(For Legal Purposes)

[bluestarone]

71. Like i stated a couple days ago.

Every day these bastards take away another little piece of America. Everyday!!

[AllyCat]

73. All the fantastic nurses I work with are pissed

including a few that voted for this insanity. Curious to see how they turn this around to blame Biden and Harris.

[Jilly_in_VA]

77. I saw my nephrologist today and told him

He hadn't heard this but said, "WHAT? I will have to educate myself!" He didn't sound too happy. I also told his nurses, who hadn't heard either. All three of them were pissed and vowed to call our senators and congresscritter. Tell every nurse and doctor you know! It may get some results.

[AllyCat]

79. And another thing....(I'm on a tear about this)

…having nurse practitioners HELPS rural areas that are losing their hospitals and clinics!!

So many solid professionals losing designation here: architects (do we really want buildings falling on us?), behavioral health professionals (we need mental health services!), engineers (we need stuff to work if we are going to return production to the states), literally too many professions to list…

WTF?

[LymphocyteLover]

82. the evil dumbass administration strikes again! Just how many people CAN they piss off?

[DrFunkenstein]

84. What About Running A Fake Wrestling Organization While Enabling Child Sexual Abuse?

As per the ongoing lawsuit?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wwe-sex-abuse-suit-raises-concerns-ahead-linda-mcmahons-hearing-run-ed-rcna190997