Defending the soul of Nursing

FigureThe announcement that the US Department of Education intends to remove “Nursing” from the list of professional degree programs hit me hard. It angered nurses and spurred nationwide backlash from nursing organizations. In this new policy, only “professional” degrees will qualify applicants for high-dollar federal student loans. News coverage of this topic has centered on the detrimental impact on professional advancement, including reducing the pool of advanced practice nurses and nursing faculty at a time of shortage that threatens both patient care and the nursing pipeline. The harm in this reclassification is damaging to the future of our profession (and yes, we are one), but there is another aspect of harm that cuts deep into the soul of nurses few people outside of Nursing will fully comprehend: moral injury. From my first nursing school class to my last, I was imbued with foundational lessons on what it means to be a Professional Nurse. Nursing practice demands high levels of knowledge, integrity, ethics, competency, advocacy, empathy, reliability, resilience, and life choices that uphold the public's trust. The issuance of an RN license to practice after successfully passing a rigorous exam codifies these constructs into law. Nursing conduct labeled “unprofessional” potentially carries reputational, employment, and even regulatory or legal consequences. Action can be taken on a nurse's license, including revocation, for unprofessional conduct. Imagine, then, the impact of hearing that Nursing is no longer categorized as a professional degree. Nurses often risk their jobs when serving as patient advocates by speaking truth to power, and place their lives on the line to care for patients in circumstances like infectious disease outbreaks, workplace violence episodes, and disasters. Nursing involves all of the qualities I described, but being a Professional Nurse encompasses much more than the sum of its parts. So, when I read that Nursing would no longer be classified as a profession, the news hit me as a moral wound. It was a professional affront and deeply offensive to everything I have held sacred in Nursing. Putting my gut reaction into words was challenging. Moral injury is the only descriptor that comes close. Nursing is indeed a profession despite the current misclassification. Contact legislators and join professional Nursing organizations in concerted efforts to overturn this change. Our profession needs advocacy as well as allies. Being a professional is not just a label to us. It is the soul of who we are. Until next time, LINDA LASKOWSKI-JONES, MS, APRN, ACNS-BC, CEN, NEA-BC, FAWM, FAEN, FAAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NURSING2026