It is about to become harder for some New Yorkers to become health care professionals.
The U.S. Department of Education is eliminating the “professional” status for some types of health care careers, which means fewer types of federal student loans will be available to them.
Amy Lee Pacholk, surgical and trauma critical care nurse at SUNY Stony Brook Hospital, predicted the change will also harm the health care education pipeline.
“There’s already a shortage of professors,” Pacholk pointed out. “This will, frankly, increase that shortage of professors and then, in turn, affect the workforce at large because there won’t be enough people to educate.”
Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., has introduced a bill in Congress which attempts to reverse some of the changes. The Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals Act would undo the Department of Education’s action by restoring the professional designation to health care fields – as well as to teachers and social workers – and the higher public student loan limits for which they are eligible.
The change also comes just as a massive nursing strike in downstate New York was launched this week over hospital working conditions and chronic understaffing. Pacholk noted the issues are symptoms indicating why the state and nation are facing widespread nursing shortages. She added noncompetitive salaries at nursing schools and not enough people with the expertise to teach certain courses, will also severely affect how the next generation of nurses is educated.
“Oftentimes, you’ll find people who practice for providers as nurse practitioners, or working hospitals and facilities, will augment their salary by picking up classes to teach on the side,” Pacholk observed.
The Department of Education is refuting claims about the effects its changes will have. It pointed to data showing 95% of nursing students borrow less than the annual loan limit and most nurses do not have the graduate degrees which would be most affected by the new definition.
Edwin is a reporter and producer in North Tonawanda, New York. He’s previously reported for the Niagara Gazette and the Ithaca Times. Edwin got an early start in radio interning for WBFO-88.7FM, NPR’s Buffalo affiliate. In 2018, he graduated from SUNY Buffalo State College with a B.A. in Journalism, and in 2022, graduated from Syracuse University with an M.S. in Communications.