Washington, D.C. – E be like say the Trump administration don decide to clear nursing off dem list of ‘professional degree’ programs. Na true wah! Dem move dey come as part of the new student loan policies wey the Department of Education dey rollout under the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ (na hin be the full name, but we go just dey call am OBB for short). This one na cause for alarm for nurses and those wey wan enter nursing profession.
As per the gist, the American Nurses Association don dey shout say this move fit make many nurses no fit access money to fund their schooling. Na wah! Even dem get low-key fear say e fit affect patient care sharply. Imagine say nurses wey dey work hard to save life now dey get barrier as dem dey struggle with school fees – no be small matter oh!
Dem don’t define professional degree to include plenty professions like medicine, law, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine, but nursing, wey dey carry healthcare for head, dey miss inside. The new rules dey cap the loans wey students fit borrow, meaning say students wey wan apply for nursing programs go find am harder to get funds to pay for their education.
E dey estimated say over 260,000 students dey for entry-level Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs and roughly 42,000 dey for Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). With this new policy, many of dem go think twice before dem enter the profession. The nurse wey get 10 years experience wey post for TikTok talk say she go soon dey shortage of nurses for the country, and she no fit gree, abeg!
Oluwemimo Yakusheva wey be nursing professor from Johns Hopkins University talk say e go affect the way we dey train nurses for the future. E say if nurses no fit continue their education, who go run the health system? The tension wey dey ground don high as nursing groups dey gear up to fight back.
The Department of Education press secretary Ellen Keast don come out talk say dem no get anything to hide, but make we see am as this issue dey unfold. Some don call am fake news wey no suppose happen. But wetin we see for ground don dey hard so far!
Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, wey be president of the American Nurses Association, don talk say nurses dey important part of the healthcare system. If dem no fit get access to funds for their education, who go take care of patients dem now? People don dey vex, and rightly so. Na wah, dem never see anything yet.
As e dey go, the new measures dey set to take effect from July 1, 2026, so nurses and aspiring nurses better begin dey plan savvy financial moves sharp sharp. If no be for anything, make dem continue dey fight for their rights, plus the future of healthcare too!
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