Healthcare Is a Shared Mission: Imperative to Support All Health Professionals
Healthcare is, by its very nature, collaborative. Health professionals – including nurses, physicians, public health professionals, and many others – stand together to support patients and populations. Achieving a vision where everyone has what they need for healthier, longer lives depends on a health workforce that is both diverse and fully integrated. Yet a proposed ruling from the U.S. Department of Education threatens this model by reclassifying essential health science degrees (including nursing, public health, physician assistant studies, audiology, social work, and physical therapy) and stripping them of their “professional” status.
A Crisis by the Numbers
This proposal fails to acknowledge the current deep vulnerabilities across the healthcare ecosystem, where workforce gaps that affect nursing, public health practitioners, and clinical specialists are widening. Imposing new barriers, such as those recommended by the Department of Education, risks destabilizing the already stressed health system.
Nearly half of the nation’s public health workforce left their positions during the COVID-19 pandemici. Experts warn that without significant investment in education, New York will face persistent shortages in public health professionals through the next decadeii.
The nursing shortage remains especially acute: tens of thousands of positions nationwide remain vacant, and workforce projections indicate persistent shortages for years to come. Meanwhile, data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing show that more than 80,000 qualified applicants were turned away from U.S. nursing schools in 2022 due to limited faculty and resourcesiii, which indicates a pressing shortage of advanced practice nurses and nursing faculty (without whom workforce expansion is impossible).
Notably, in New York Academy of Medicine’s 2025 Fellows cohort, 47% are nurses: an impressive figure that nonetheless belies a discrepancy with workforce need.
The Threat to Everyone’s Health is Profound
The Department of Education’s proposed reclassification arises from Public Law 119–21 (signed 7/4/2025), which seeks to redefine eligibility for federal financial aid by limiting what is considered a “professional” degree. Under this new definition, students in programs no longer deemed “professional” would be ineligible for the Graduate PLUS Loan program, a funding source essential for many seeking advanced degrees in health science professions.
Should this be enacted, countless students in nursing, public health and other critical health disciplines could lose access to crucial financial support. The scope of this proposed restriction is extensive, including nursing, public health, physician assistant studies, audiology, social work, and physical therapy.
Restricting financial aid in this manner is likely to:
- Limit entry to these fields, particularly for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
If this happens, we will reverse progress toward a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities and that serves health needs from prevention to primary to specialty care.
- Undermine the recognition and support of critical health professions.
Eroding the status of these degrees would diminish respect for professionals and weaken confidence in the broader health system, at a time when public trust and evidence-based leadership are especially vital.
As New York Academy of Medicine President Ann Kurth has emphasized: “When one part of the health team is undermined, care for all is compromised. Every role, from bedside nurses and public health workers to scientists and policy leaders, must be supported and empowered in order to build healthier communities.”
Response from Other Leading Organizations
Leading organizations across the health sector share these concerns.
The American Nurses Association has cautioned that restricting federal aid will intensify shortages and undermine equity in nursing education.iv
The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health has warned that excluding public health degrees from “professional” status is short-sighted and dangerous, undermining the nation’s ability to prepare practitioners who protect population health.v
The Council on Social Work Education has warned that redefining professional degrees will limit access to social work education and weaken the pipeline of mental health providers.vi
Policymakers should engage these stakeholders to ensure that financing mechanisms match the rigor and value of these programs.
A Call to Action
This issue is a broad health emergency for all health professionals and all of us who rely on them, with implications for every facet of prevention and care delivery.
New York Academy of Medicine is committed to working in concert with our diverse community of Fellows, which includes nurses and other clinicians, researchers, educators, and public health leaders, to oppose this measure.
We call on the Department of Education to recognize that the nation’s health depends on a fully supported, interdisciplinary workforce. The Department is expected to release a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the coming weeks, opening a public comment period in which New York Academy of Medicine will participate.
It is imperative for health professionals and consumers to unite in ensuring that all members of the health workforce are recognized as essential, rigorous, and invaluable.
i Hare Bork R, Robins M, Schaffer K, Leider JP, Castrucci BC. Workplace Perceptions and Experiences Related to COVID-19 Response Efforts Among Public Health Workers — Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey, United States, September 2021–January 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2022;71(29):920–924. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7129a3
ii Center for Health Workforce Studies. (2023). The Health Care Workforce in New York State: Trends in the Supply of and Demand for Health Care Workers. Rensselaer, NY: School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York.
iii American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2023). 2022-2023 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing. Washington, DC: AACN.
iv American Nurses Association. Statement on Federal Student Loan Policy and Nursing Education.
v Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. Exclusion of Public Health Degrees from Professional Status.
vi Council on Social Work Education. Statement on DOE Definition Limiting Access to Social Work Education.