DUE BY March 2, 2026. Tell the Department of Education Nursing IS a Professional Degree. - We NEED your voice!

The Department of Education's proposed rule on post-baccalaureate federal student loans is open for public comment until March 2!

The Department of Education (ED) is currently considering a proposal that strikes at the very heart of our identity as nurses. By seeking to exclude post-baccalaureate nursing degrees - including the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and PhD - from the official definition of "professional degrees," the federal government is making a statement that we cannot ignore: They are suggesting that nursing is not a profession.

This is not just a matter of semantics or paperwork. It is a matter of principle, and for the state of Hawaiʻi, it is a matter of survival.

A Direct Insult to Our Expertise

To suggest that a nurse who undergoes years of rigorous graduate study, completes thousands of hours of supervised clinical rotations, and achieves national board certification is not a "professional" is a direct insult to every nurse in our islands.

While the ED’s proposed list of professional degrees includes fields like theology, which often requires no state licensure to practice, it excludes the advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) who serve as primary care providers, nurse anesthetists, and specialists across our state. We are experts. We are clinicians. We are professionals. It is time the federal government recognized that.

The High Cost of Devaluation

If this proposal moves forward, the practical consequences will be devastating. Reclassifying these degrees would slash federal loan limits for graduate nursing students. In Hawaiʻi, where the cost of living is among the highest in the nation, these loans are often the only way our nurses can afford to advance their education.

We already know from the Hawaiʻi State Center for Nursing (HSCN) that financial barriers are the leading reason nurses discontinue their education. By lowering loan limits, the ED is effectively closing the door on the next generation of Hawaiʻi’s APRNs and nursing faculty.

Hawaiʻi’s Unique Workforce Realities

Our islands are already at a breaking point. We are facing a statewide physician shortage of over 500 providers, and our nursing workforce projections show critical shortfalls in LPNs and specialty RNs. APRNs are the solution to these gaps, especially in our rural and neighbor island communities.

Furthermore, Hawaiʻi’s training capacity is not unlimited. We face unique bottlenecks:

• Faculty Shortages: We cannot train more nurses without qualified faculty, yet those faculty must hold the very graduate degrees the ED is trying to devalue.
• Clinical Placement Limits: Our geographic isolation means we have a finite number of hospitals and clinics. We cannot simply "expand" our way out of a student shortage caused by bad federal policy.
• No Room for Error: Unlike the mainland, we cannot send our students across a state line to find a different program. If our local pipeline withers, our healthcare system withers with it.

Take Action Now

We cannot allow the Department of Education to undermine the nursing profession or the health of our communities. We must speak with one voice to demand that nursing degrees be recognized as the professional degrees they are.

I am asking every member of Hawaiʻi-ANA to take two minutes today to protect our future.

1. Visit RNAction.org.
2. Use the automated tool to send a letter to the Department of Education.
3. Share this message with your colleagues and fellow students.

We are the backbone of Hawaiʻi’s healthcare system. Let’s ensure the federal government treats us with the respect, and the professional recognition, we have earned.

Attached is the letter submitted by Hawai'i-ANA.

Me ka mahalo piha, 

Elizabeth Kahakua

Executive Director

New to regulatory advocacy? Our grassroots campaign provides a template comment letter, while our latest blog, "Regulation 101: How Nurses Can Shape Policy," breaks down everything you need to know about submitting an impactful comment letter.