JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Health care advocates are pushing back against the U.S. Department of Education’s change removing nursing from its list of professional programs.
This decision means federal funding will no longer be provided for graduate-level programs like nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or physical therapists.
It is a change that comes under President Trump’s new budget bill.
“We were never really on the list, but we’ve never been excluded,” the president of the American Nurses Association, Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, said. “This is a change because they specifically left us off the list and were very clear.”
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Dr. Mensik Kennedy said nurse practitioners and advanced nurses provide much of the primary care across the county.
“We are already short primary care providers,” Dr. Mensik Kennedy said. “People might see much longer wait times just to get in to see routine issues.”
She warned that with the department making this change, it could have ripple effects across the healthcare system, including maternity care, anesthesia services, and the training of future nurses.
“This is a downhill issue for all of the health care system,” Dr. Mensik Kennedy said.
And with the higher costs ahead, she said, we could see fewer students enter the profession.
“We are going to see people really question why go through these pre-requisites and try and get into nursing school if I can’t make it,” Dr. Mensik Kennedy said.
The changes are set to take effect on July 1st.
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