Recently, the Department of Education revised its definition of professional degrees; the changes exclude nurses, nurse practitioners (NPs), and physician assistants, which is expected to lead to massive cuts in financial support for people pursuing these careers. If the proposal is finalized, this means it could become harder for graduate nursing students to complete their education and decrease the application and graduation rates of RNs.
This decision to eliminate nursing and PA degrees from ‘professional degree’ status isn’t just a financial policy choice; it’s a workforce policy choice. And, unfortunately, it’s moving in the wrong direction at the worst possible time.
We need to expand, not reduce, the healthcare workforce
The physician shortage is not easing, which is why this news came as such a shock across the industry. Every health system leader I work with is planning for a future where we must expand care capacity through roles such as advanced practice providers (APPs) and physician assistants (PAs); for the vast majority, doing so is not an option – it’s a necessity.
While we are seeing a reduction in the clinical workforce across the country, this is especially acute in rural communities; according to the American Medical Association, 65% of rural areas have a shortage of primary care physicians. Nurses are critical to filling that gap: nearly 90% of the 355,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. are trained in primary care, and 70% of active nurse practitioners work delivering primary care. If we do anything but increase the number of people providing that kind of critical and consistent care, we risk furthering the care gap that already exists (more than 34% – 120 million Americans – live in a healthcare desert).
These clinicians aren’t a backup plan; they are the plan
They are already the front line in primary care, chronic disease management, urgent care access, IV therapy, functional medicine, and countless other community-based settings. With three in four adults in the U.S. having at least one chronic condition, and over half having two or more chronic conditions, the need is vast for more providers focused on preventive care and wellness, especially as the population continues to age.
As the care continuum evolves, it requires a rethinking not only of how care is delivered, but also who is best positioned to deliver it. For example, more and more people are adding wellness to their overall personal care. Practices such as IV hydration, red light therapy, cold exposure, and yoga are becoming increasingly popular as ways to prevent illness and facilitate a healthier lifestyle. The jury is still out on whether these kinds of activities will have a demonstrable result on health outcomes, such as lowering the rate of chronic disease, but the exponential growth in this area highlights the fact that people are thinking differently, or more broadly, about their overall health. As a result, we need to think about how we as providers meet those needs. After all, reducing rates of chronic disease not only lowers costs, but more importantly, saves lives.
When we take such drastic actions that could eliminate thousands of potential providers across the care continuum, we stop any progress before it’s made.
What now?
Policy should be protecting and elevating the healthcare professional pipeline, not narrowing it through outdated definitions that ignore the reality of today’s healthcare economy. In December, more than 100 lawmakers from both parties sent a letter urging the department to include graduate nursing degrees in the “professional degree” distinction; the final decision is scheduled for July 2026. It’s important that in the meantime we make our voices heard to let lawmakers in Washington and those in the Department of Education know our healthcare system can’t survive without these critical roles – and call for them to add graduate nursing degrees to the list.
Photo: gpointstudio, Getty Images
Dr. Chris Seitz is a Board-Certified Emergency Physician and CEO and Chief Medical Officer of GuardianMD. He is licensed as a physician in all 50 states and founded two healthcare educational companies prior to co-founding GuardianMD in 2021, which helps nurses and other healthcare professionals start and scale their own healthcare businesses by providing access to medical oversight, compliance, and telehealth resources. Dr. Seitz is passionate about increasing access to healthcare by empowering all healthcare providers to work within their scope of practice and run successful and innovative businesses.
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