NLN Strongly Opposes Department of Education Refusal to Classify Nursing as a Professional Discipline

NLN Strongly Opposes Department of Education Refusal to Classify Nursing as a Professional Discipline

Action Would Undermine Efforts to Address the Nation’s Nursing Shortage

Washington, DC – As the nation’s most trusted profession, the National League for Nursing stands with nursing’s leaders in opposition to the Department of Education’s decision to not classify nursing as a professional discipline. This action would deny nursing students the opportunity to obtain higher graduate student loan amounts they may need to complete their education. It would also do nothing to address the nation’s nursing shortage, and indeed could make it worse.

In their “Myth vs. Fact” press release, the agency indicates that 95% of nursing students need less than an aggregate total of $100,000 for their tuition. Unfortunately, the department did not provide information on how they came to this conclusion. It is possible that they only evaluated data from MSN students or inadvertently neglected to realize that in 2007 graduate programs were primarily MSN and have since become largely doctoral—both doctor of nursing practice and doctor of philosophy.

As we know, doctoral programs can take 3-5 years to complete versus the 1-2 years for an MSN program. Additionally, students need funds to support expensive textbooks, simulation lab fees, course and online learning fees, and more. The expenses add up quickly and can be quite costly.

The department’s decision to not include graduate nursing as a professional discipline will have significant impact on the ability of nurses to advance their education to become advanced practice nurses and scientists. Without this federal support, our profession will lose the ground we have gained since the 2010 release of the Future of Nursing report for doubling the number of doctorally prepared nurses, as well as having sufficient numbers of advanced practice providers who can not only reduce the growing expense of health care but also increase access to patients in remote and underserved communities.

Both the National Academy of Medicine and American Nurses Association recognize the vital role of graduate nurses to the health of our nation. We call on all nurses and nurse educators to act now by contacting their Congressional leaders and the Department of Education about the need to add nursing as a professional discipline within the federal regulations. 

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