MNA Board calls on allies to stand with nurses and healthcare professionals to oppose this policy that threatens healthcare education and deepens a nursing crisis

CANTON, Mass., Nov. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The nurses and healthcare professionals elected to the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) Board of Directors have issued a strong warning and call to action about the Trump Administration's decision to not recognize advanced practice nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy and other healthcare degrees as "professional degrees" under new federal student loan policies. This change will sharply restrict access to federal loans, cap reimbursement for APRNs, and destabilize the pipeline of new nurses and healthcare professionals at a time when caregivers are leaving the bedside in record numbers due to unsafe, dangerous conditions inside the Commonwealth's hospitals.

Statement from the Massachusetts Nurses Association Board of Directors

As the Trump administration implements its Big Beautiful Bill and moves to remove advanced practice nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and other healthcare degrees from federal recognition as "professional degrees," the MNA Board of Directors condemns this decision in the strongest possible terms. This reclassification is not a technical adjustment. Rather it is a direct attack on the healthcare workforce and the future of patient care.

By capping federal loan access for graduate nursing and healthcare professional students and eliminating programs like Grad PLUS, the administration is telling tens of thousands of current and aspiring students that their education and expertise are worth less than other professions. These caps make it dramatically harder or impossible to afford the education required to meet the needs of our communities. This change also restricts reimbursement pathways for APRNs, placing additional strain on nurses already working under crisis-level conditions.

The administration's policy will slow and shrink our ability to educate the next generation of nurses and healthcare professionals, reduce the pipeline of desperately needed nurse educators, and deepen the shortage of advanced practice clinicians across Massachusetts. It punishes current nurses seeking to advance their skills, burdens them with greater private-loan debt, and jeopardizes access to high-quality, community-based care, especially in rural and underserved areas that rely heavily on APRNs and other healthcare professionals.

Unsafe Conditions are Driving Nurses from the Bedside

The federal attack on healthcare education comes as Massachusetts nurses are raising the alarm about a healthcare system in deep crisis. According to the 2025 State of Massachusetts Nursing Survey, conditions inside hospitals have deteriorated sharply:

• 78% of nurses say the quality of patient care has gotten worse over the past two years.
• 67% say they do not have enough time to give patients the care and attention they need.
• 49% worry weekly that unsafe staffing could jeopardize their nursing license.
• 37% of nurses would not feel safe admitting a family member to the unit where they work.

Workplace violence is also worsening, with 69% calling it a serious problem and 70% reporting experiencing violence or abuse in the last two years. Last week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed historical workplace violence prevention legislation put forward by the MNA, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA), and 1199SEIU Massachusetts. The bill is now under consideration by the Senate.

The lack of solutions for these nursing workforce problems is driving nurses out of the profession:

• 36% of RNs plan to leave nursing earlier than expected.
• 50% of nurses with under five years of experience say they intend to leave early.
• Among nurses choosing to leave hospital care, unsafe staffing (24%), poor working conditions (26%), and burnout (27%) are the top reasons.

A Call for Collective Action

Instead of investing in solutions, the federal government is making it harder to enter and remain in the healthcare workforce. Nursing is the largest and most trusted healthcare profession in the nation. To arbitrarily strip professional status from nursing and healthcare professional degrees is an insult to every person who delivers lifesaving care and a blow to the healthcare system that depends on us.

We call on our labor, community, healthcare, and legislative allies across Massachusetts and the country to join us in opposing this dangerous federal policy. Stand with nurses and healthcare professionals to protect educational access and ensure that future generations can enter and advance within this essential profession without unjust barriers. The health of our patients and the future of our workforce depend on our collective action.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 26,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association