Dropping Nurse Training From the List of Professional Degrees Means More Nurses Under Stress

The impact of the Trump administration’s decision to drop nursing from the roster of professional degrees cannot be overstated. While students in other professional fields — medicine, law, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, etc. — will continue to benefit from the higher borrowing limit for federal loans, nursing students no longer will.

Going forward, nursing students will be able to borrow only half the amount of federal loans they previously had access to. The change is certain to put enormous strain on nursing students making their way through their degree programs, slowing their time to degree while they juggle jobs and schoolwork (and, in many cases, families) and pushing many of them into high-cost private loans or forcing them to leave school altogether, worsening the country’s nursing shortage.

These burdens create stress in nurses’ lives long after graduation and professional certification. Adding this kind of pressure on top of their already highly demanding job is a recipe for disaster. If you’re a nurse and you’re facing a licensing investigation, or your license has already been suspended or revoked, we can help. Call the LLF National Law Firm’s Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or send us a message online.

The High Cost of Reduced Borrowing Limits

The de-listing of nursing degrees from the programs eligible for higher borrowing limits is going to place tremendous strain on the upcoming generation of nurses in two ways:

• Workplace stress:

This affects all nurses, no matter how they paid for school, because the additional time it takes to complete the degree, as students work longer hours to pay tuition and make ends meet, means fewer students will make it to graduation. There’s already a nursing shortage; fewer nurses graduating and entering the workforce each year means individual nurses will have to shoulder more and more of the workload.

• Financial stress:

Nursing students who end up turning to private loans to make up the difference between the amount they can borrow and the costs of earning their degree are likely to be stuck with high interest rates and short repayment terms. Meeting these monthly obligations is very difficult, especially in an era of sky-high housing costs. Many nurses will struggle just to keep their heads above water.

The U.S. needs more nurses, not fewer, and it needs them to be energized, focused, and confident. It’s not good for anyone when nurses feel like they’re barely surviving.

We Help Nurses in Trouble

In any profession, extreme or chronic stress is going to compromise cognitive skills and attention to detail, increase the chance for substance abuse as a coping mechanism, and heighten the probability of error. In nursing, where patients’ lives are at stake, any of these can spell the loss of the professional license and the end of an important, necessary career.

Nurses who face an investigation by their state’s licensing board or disciplinary action know that context matters. The Professional License Defense Team at the LLF National Law Firm understands the pressures nurses are under and can ensure their boards get the full picture when there are allegations against them. Send us a note and tell us about your case, or call us directly at 888-535-3686. We’ll see that you get the best possible outcome for your situation.