OPINION
the nursing faculty of the future. Right now, we are already short around 2,000 people in the nursing faculty workforce.
The American Nursing Association has spoken out against this bill and noted that inability to afford the education required to become nursing faculty“ would threaten the very foundation of patient care.” Community colleges, like the Jefferson Community & Technical College program, involve two years only; graduates are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN national licensure examination. But whether JCTC will need to reassess faculty qualifications is a question for the future. BSN programs are not included in the loan limits, thanks be. The 2025-2026 tuition at Spalding University is $ 860-915 per nursing credit hour. RN to BSN credit hours are charged at $ 490 per credit hour; total fees can exceed $ 45,000 per year – and 99 % of students get some degree of financial aid. A full-time student getting a BSN at UofL pays well over $ 30,000 a year, incurring extra fees with $ 55 per clinical credit and $ 35 per instruction credit.
Proponents of the One Big Beautiful Bill hoped it would“ rein in student debt” and also“ incentivize colleges to lower the costs of education.”
As if! Our class of 1984 UofL medical school paid $ 5,000 / year as Kentucky residents, for tuition, plus we had to cover books, etc., etc. Yes, read it and weep. The current fee for Kentucky residents is $ 47,406 and for out of state students, it’ s $ 72,714. No wonder they all want to grow up to be specialists; no wonder we lack primary care doctors, especially those who plan to practice out in the sticks. Typically, tuition costs go up each year, as well.
And the inclusion of theology? Noble though it is, can you flunk a test if your teacher thinks Buddhism is bunk, for instance, and you are espousing its principles? There is just not a body of scientific measurements to faith. It’ s the how many angels on a pin conundrum. How many souls can fit on a cumulus cloud, I wonder? What prayers are they saying, and in how many languages? What data is going to defend your thesis? Will only Christians count, or does Sufism gets its chance too?
Currently, the clinical psychologists have been able to add their profession to the loan-approved list. However, not just PhD-pursuing nurses are banned from this loan program. Nurse practitioner students, physician assistant students and physical therapists are also banned, if this law is implemented as written. Despite the huge backlash from the nursing profession, nothing has yet changed.
At least the American Medical Association has submitted formal comments to the Department of Education regarding the banning of the above professions from loan eligibility. The Department of Education has responded that their data shows that 95 % of nursing students borrow below the federal loan limit and so this will not bother them. In addition, they note that“ placing a cap on loans will push the remaining graduate nursing programs to reduce their costs, ensuring that nurses will not be saddled with unmanageable student debt.”
If you believe that, I have a bridge or two to show you.
I don’ t know about the rest of you, but our father’ s deal for his seven children – he in fact worked seven various jobs in journalism and broadcasting, throughout our childhoods,“ one for each of you” – was that he would cover Catholic education through high school, and anything beyond was up to us. We all worked our way through college, applied for any scholarship we could get, etc. I could only work summers in medical school, however, and then only the first two years. I think I’ d been in practice about 15 years when one day the bank told me to stop sending them checks! Thank God almighty, free at last.
If you can employ a medical student, a PA student or a nursing student part-time in your practice – go for it! You need them, and Kentucky needs them.
Dr. Barry is an internist and Associate Professor of Medicine( Gratis Faculty) at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, currently retired and mulling her next moves.
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