Growing Outrage in the Media – “Stop Picking on Nurses”

Previous posts explained the current controversy surrounding the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulatory change that removes nursing from the list of designated “professions” and imposes lower caps on graduate student loan amounts. You can get up to speed here: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3.

Other fields where “profession status” or lowered loan caps are causing havoc are also generating media and requests for advocacy. To compare how nursing is faring with other fields that depend on graduate education, see the links below.

The voices are gathering, and the volume is increasing as the reaction to what some call the “demotion of nursing” as a profession hits popular, social, and professional media. With so many chiming in, it is interesting to see how well the nuances of this policy decision are being reported. Some pieces are accurate, and some, unfortunately, conclude that nursing has been demoted back to an occupation, an inaccurate broad brush interpretation. None of this is a good thing for nursing. Check out how the story is reported and how nursing is characterized. These are examples; each media source has multiple posts and pieces published on this issue.

This list will be updated as the story unfolds.

For those inspired to add to the public comments on this policy issue, the National League for Nursing has provided a quick “minimal click” tool to make a comment and write to your senator and representative. Click here to go to the NLN tool.

Popular Media – Nursing

• Newsweek
• Arizona State Press
• People
• ABC News
• The Independent
• AOL
• CNBC

Social Media – Nursing

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Substack
• Reddit
• LinkedIn LinkedIn
• TikTok

Professional Media – Nursing

• ANA
• AWHONN Action Center
• National Education Association
• American Hospital Association
• American Council on Education
• National Assoc. of Student Financial Aid Administrators

Other Impacted Fields Requiring Expensive Graduate Study

• Veterinary Medicine
• UC Law
• AAPA (PAs)