The Tennessee Nurses Association is waging battles on two fronts this year, pushing back against proposed federal education funding cuts while defending Advanced Practice Registered Nurses from new state-level restrictions — all as Tennessee’s nursing shortage deepens.
A Federal Threat to the Pipeline
A Trump administration proposal to strip nursing of its “professional degree” classification under the U.S. Department of Education has put TNA on high alert. The reclassification would limit federal student loans to $100,000 for graduate nursing programs, compared to $200,000 for fields that retain professional degree status.
TNA President Jennifer McGuire Hitt called the timing dangerous. Tennessee is already short about 15,000 nurses, and with roughly one in five bedside nurses expected to leave the profession within two years, she warned the policy could trigger a steep drop in enrollment the state simply cannot absorb. The loan cap would hit advanced practice students hardest — particularly those training to become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, who largely cannot work while completing their programs.
Bipartisan lawmakers have already sent a letter to the Department of Education urging nursing’s reclassification, and more than fifty nursing organizations have joined forces to block the change before final regulations take effect.
Defending APRN Practice Rights
Simultaneously, TNA has been locked in a fight to protect APRN scope of practice at the Tennessee General Assembly. When restrictive new legislation advanced last session, TNA members sent over 6,000 messages to legislators in a single 24-hour window — a mobilization the association credits with halting the bill.
The stakes are high. Tennessee is one of only 11 states with the most restrictive APRN practice environments and ranks 44th in health outcomes nationally. Access-to-care advocates argue those two facts are directly linked, particularly in rural communities where 13 hospitals have closed since 2010 — the second-highest total of any state.
The Numbers Behind the Urgency
Tennessee faces a predicted shortfall of more than 8,500 registered nurses by 2035, driven by an aging workforce, population growth, and persistent recruitment challenges. Licensed Practical Nurses are in demand across all nine of the state’s local workforce development areas, with hundreds of open positions going unfilled.
TNA says the solution requires action at every level: protecting education funding, expanding APRN practice authority, and growing enrollment — not shrinking it.
Nurses, healthcare employers, and the public are encouraged to contact their members of Congress in support of nursing’s professional degree classification, contribute to the TN Nurses PAC, and join TNA to strengthen the profession’s collective voice.