Include nursing on the federal list of professional degrees

Op-ed in The Seattle Times by WSNA President Justin Gill

Washington state’s health care system depends on a strong and stable workforce, and nurses — the largest and most trusted profession in the country — are at the center of it. Patients and communities thanked nurses and health care workers for the vital role they played in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet that trust and appreciation appear to be overlooked at the federal level.

As someone who relied on federal graduate loans to become a nurse practitioner, I am alarmed by the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed rule that removes nursing from its list of recognized “professional degree” programs, among other important health care occupations. This proposed rule is the direct result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — the sweeping 2025 law that capped graduate loan amounts and restructured repayment programs. Under the act, only students in designated professional degree programs can access higher loan limits of up to $50,000 per year or $200,000 over a lifetime. By excluding nursing, the department is effectively placing graduate nursing education out of reach for many by limiting loan amounts to $20,500 per academic year or $100,000 over a lifetime.

For Washington state, this is not an abstract policy debate — it is a threat to the stability of our already strained health care workforce.