The National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (www.nacns.org) is disappointed and concerned about the U.S. Department of Education’s final rule eliminating nursing in its definition of “professional degree” programs.
The limitations will have an adverse effect on current and potential nurses as we recruit and educate tomorrow’s American nurses. Specifically, restrictions on educational loan support for post-baccalaureate nursing training will disproportionally impact the healthcare workforce. This will have disastrous consequences on patient-centered care.
“Clinical Nurse Specialists are essential to improving patient outcomes, advancing evidence-based practice, and strengthening healthcare delivery across the continuum of care. Excluding nursing from the definition of professional degree programs sends the wrong message at the wrong time,” said Jackie Iseler, DNP, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CNE, FCNS, President of NACNS.
This decision threatens access to advanced nursing education when the United States urgently needs highly educated and skillfully trained nurses to continue to improve patient outcomes, strengthen care delivery, and support the healthcare workforce. Read the final rule here: https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-finalizes-landmark-rule-lower-college-costs-and-simplify-student-loan-repayment.
Clinical Nurse Specialists are Advanced Practice Registered Nurses prepared through master’s, doctoral, or post-graduate certificate programs. They provide direct patient care, lead evidence-based practice, optimize healthcare systems, and advance nursing practice across settings. Restricting access to graduate loan support creates unnecessary barriers for nurses seeking the advanced education required to serve patients, support bedside nurses, and improve healthcare quality.
NACNS joins ANA (American Nurses Association’s Statement on the Department of Education’s Finalized Graduate Student Loan Rulemaking) and all nursing organizations in calling on federal leaders to rectify this decision and ensure nurses have equitable access to the financial resources needed to pursue graduate nursing education. Policies that limit the pathway of advanced practice nurses do not only affect individual students; they affect patients, healthcare systems, and communities across the country.
For more than 30 years, NACNS has championed the essential contributions of Clinical Nurse Specialists nationwide. Founded to unify and elevate the CNS profession, NACNS continues to drive progress through advocacy, education, research, and leadership—strengthening CNS practice and shaping the future of advanced nursing.