Pro-Trump Nurse Shocked He Removed Career From 'Prof...

By Suzanne Blake

Reporter, Consumer & Social Trends

ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

A nurse who said she has "voted each time" for President Donald Trump has spoken out after the White House omitted the field of nursing under its new definition of those requiring a "professional" degree.

Under the revamped list of professional degree programs, nursing and other key health care jobs were excluded, triggering debate over how this could affect nurses’ ability to get approved for student loans in the long run.

“Please remove the limitations of professions!” wrote Wendy Brindley Hines on Facebook. “As a PROFESSIONAL nurse who has her Masters Degree and as someone who has voted each time for you, I cannot believe that you would disrespect our profession!”

Why It Matters

Under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the reclassifications could change who is able to apply and qualify for certain aid or debt programs.

Americans hold nearly $1.8 trillion in student debt, and nursing not being among the listed professional degree programs could impact their loan limits.

...

What To Know

Brindley Hines, who said she is a professional nurse with a master's degree, expressed her dismay over Trump's Department of Education (DOE) not including nursing and physical therapy under its professional degree definition.

“Additionally, our middle daughter will graduate as a PT in 1 month, and our youngest is planning on becoming a Physician's Assistant. All of which take care of patients on a daily basis. Grad school is very expensive… trust me, I know! I have paid my way myself for each level of my education," she wrote.

The nurse, who has voted for the president, urged Trump to rethink the reclassification.

“Please reconsider your thoughts on this bill,” Brindley Hines wrote. “We all need professional staff that can afford education in their effort to care for our nation.”

Under Trump's fiscal plan, undergraduate loans have been capped, and the GRAD PLUS program was eliminated. There’s also a new Repayment Assistance Plan, but only students pursuing a professional degree can borrow up to $50,000 per year.

The fields determined as professional by the DOE include:

Medicine
Pharmacy
Dentistry
Optometry
Law
Veterinary medicine
Osteopathic medicine
Podiatry
Chiropractic
Theology
Clinical psychology

A spokesperson for the DOE told Newsweek that nursing graduate students will likely not be affected in terms of their loan eligibility, as the average cost for a Master of Science in Nursing program is from $15,000 to $42,000.

"Previously, all graduate students could borrow up to the cost of attendance, which led institutions to hike up the cost of graduate programs, even if those programs have a negative return on investment," the spokesperson previously told Newsweek. "As the student loan portfolio nears $1.7 trillion, these loan caps are commonsense and place downward pressure on the cost of tuition across the country."

In a fact sheet from the DOE, the government called it a "myth" that the Trump administration does not view nurses as professionals because they are not classified as requiring a “professional degree.”

"Fact: The definition of a 'professional degree' is an internal definition used by the Department to distinguish among programs that qualify for higher loan limits, not a value judgement about the importance of programs. It has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not," the fact sheet reads.

"Placing a cap on loans will push the remaining graduate nursing programs to reduce their program costs, ensuring that nurses will not be saddled with unmanageable student loan debt," a DOE spokesperson told Newsweek.

"It is important to remember that the loan limits are limited to graduate programs and have no impact on undergraduate nursing programs, including four-year bachelor’s of science in nursing degrees and two-year associate’s degrees in nursing. 80% of the nursing workforce does not have a graduate degree."

Brindley Hines declined further comment to Newsweek.

What People Are Saying

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), in a statement: "Excluding nursing from the definition of professional degree programs disregards decades of progress toward parity across the health professions and contradicts the Department’s own acknowledgment that professional programs are those leading to licensure and direct practice. AACN recognizes that explicitly including post-baccalaureate nursing education as professional is essential for strengthening the nation’s healthcare workforce, supporting the next generation of nurses, and ultimately supporting the healthcare of patients in communities across the country."

A DOE spokesperson, previously to Newsweek: "The Department did not update the federal definition of 'professional degree' to exclude nursing. The definition never included it. The definition of a professional degree is outlined in 34 CFR 668.2, which has been in regulation for decades..."

"Nurses can still take out loans – upwards of $100,000 for their graduate degree. Per NCES’s 2020 data, the average cost for Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs ranges from $15,030-$42,880, so most nursing graduates will likely not be impacted by the new caps."

Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, previously to Newsweek: “The change for degrees like nursing and education to be non-professional has stoked concerns that are both financial and job-need based in nature. With some of these majors no longer being classified as professional, that will also put a lower cap on the amount of loans aspiring students can qualify for when applying.”

What Happens Next

The new rules under the DOE will begin on July 1. Nursing organizations have sounded the alarm about the potential impact the guidelines could have on nursing staffing if students are unable to access the same amount of loans for their education.

"The main degree that was impacted and is at the forefront has to be nursing. This may resurrect access to certain funding that was once provided for nursing," Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group and host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek.

Request Reprint & LicensingSubmit CorrectionView Editorial & AI Guidelines