Statement by Jane Hopkins, RN, president of SEIU Healhcare 1199NW, in response to a Trump administration plan to reduce access to student loans for graduate degrees in nursing and other healthcare fields:
As president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, I want to be clear: The proposal coming out of Trump’s Department of Education is an insult to every nurse, physical therapist, dental hygienist, occupational therapist, and social worker who has fought to build a career and care for our communities.
By stripping graduate nursing and advanced healthcare degrees from the “professional” category, they are limiting loan access, devaluing our education, and undermining the future of our workforce.
At a time when our state and our country are still grappling with building the pipeline to meet growing needs, and the lasting trauma of the pandemic, this move shows just how little these leaders think of the skill, dedication, and expertise it takes to provide safe, high-quality care.
The impact of policies like this goes against the racial justice equity principles we fight for as a union of 37,000 healthcare workers in Washington and Montana. These policies will make it even harder for working people, and especially Black and brown students, to enter and advance in our profession. That widens inequities in care and deepens gaps our communities are already fighting to close.
One of the safeguards we’ve built in our local is the Multi-Employer Training Fund, a labor-management partnership that helps open doors through tuition assistance, professional development, and the educational support services healthcare workers need to grow in their careers. But programs like this shouldn’t have to compensate for reckless federal decisions that put nursing and healthcare education further out of reach.
Nurses and healthcare workers show up every day for our patients. We deserve a federal government that shows up for us. We will not accept any attempt to sideline or diminish our profession, and we will fight to protect access to healthcare education and the future of our workforce.
Our union will be sharing concrete steps soon on how we can fight back together. We are ready, united, and prepared to stand up, organize, and take action. Please look out for updates in the coming days.
Ways to take action
- Contact your member of Congress and tell them: Nursing and healthcare professions are professional degrees. Demand that the Department of Education keep nursing and healthcare jobs on the list and protect access to advanced nurse and healthcare education.
- Use the posts and graphics in this toolkit to amplify the message and help drive action.
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Social media captions
🛑The Trump Administration is trying to exclude nursing and healthcare professions from the list of “professional” degrees—a change that would slash loan support for advanced healthcare students & make higher education less accessible. This devalues the training & expertise of healthcare workers. We won’t stay silent.✊🏽
At a time of national nurse and healthcare workerer shortages, Trump’s Dept. of Ed wants to make advanced degrees harder to access. Capping loans + stripping “professional” status = fewer healthcare workers & more crises. Contact Congress & demand the Dept. of Ed include nursing and healthcare professions on its list of professional degrees.
⚠️Excluding nursing and healthcare professions from “professional” degrees isn’t a policy tweak, it’s a blow to equity. It pushes Black & brown students out & deepens inequities in healthcare. Unacceptable!
💜Nurses and healthcare workers carried us through a pandemic. Now, the GOP wants to say advanced nursing education isn’t “professional” enough for real loan support? This is disgraceful.
Excluding nursing and healthcare professions as “professional” degrees is bigger than loan limits. It’s about recognition, respect, and the future of healthcare. We will fight back. Contact your member of Congress TODAY & demand the administration protect nurse and healthcare education & the dignity of this profession.