Tell Congress: Oppose the Dept. of Education’s proposal to exclude nurses from professional graduate degree loans.

The Trump administration has proposed redefining which graduate degrees qualify for a higher level of federal government loans, excluding graduate nursing students from professional degree loans. This would disrupt nurses’ access to graduate degree programs to become nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, or other positions requiring an advanced degree. 

This move negatively impacts the health care of our communities:

• Nurse practitioners provide much-needed primary care, particularly in rural and underserved areas. 
  
  
• Shutting down access to resources for higher education will only further contribute to forces driving nurses away from the bedside. The hospital industry has created a staffing crisis by refusing to staff hospitals appropriate and creating conditions that are unsafe for patients and nurses.