Meharry medical students Teresa Belledent, left, and Emmanuel Kotey, right, arrive at Jackson-Madison County Hospital shortly after midnight to observe an organ procurement surgery on June 15, 2023, in Jackson, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
A proposal by the Trump administration could make it harder for people to become nurses, even as Tennessee and the nation face a severe nursing shortage.

Nursing would no longer be classified as a “professional degree,” which would limit federal student loans to $100,000 dollars for graduate programs and $200,000 for professional degrees.

Jennifer McGuire Hitt, president of the Tennessee Nurses Association, said the move risks undoing years of work to rebuild the profession’s image after COVID discouraged applicants. Tennessee is already short about 15,000 nurses, and she warned the change could deepen the health crisis and leave patients waiting longer for care.

“About 20% of nurses that are currently at the bedside have reported that they are going to leave the bedside within the next two years, so we’re going to lose one in five nurses,” Hitt reported. “We really cannot afford to lose more. We cannot really afford to have a dip in enrollment.”

Educational levels in the profession continue to rise, with more than 73% of registered nurses holding at least a bachelor’s degree. The U.S. Department of Education defines “professional” degrees as fields like medicine, law and dentistry. The Trump administration said claims nursing is being excluded from grad student loans are misleading, noting the label is only an internal designation used in setting loan limits.

Federal officials said the caps are intended to curb graduate school costs and reduce student debt. Hitt pointed out the effects would be felt most sharply by nursing students, especially those training to become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.

“I think a lot of people that need additional financial aid, or graduate nursing students that need additional financial aid, are going to be your CRNA students,” Hitt observed. “Because that money is for people that really can’t work while they’re in school at the same time.”

Bipartisan lawmakers have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education urging nursing be classified as a professional degree, which would expand federal loan access. The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology has also raised concerns with the Trump proposal.