Degrees Not Classed As ‘Professional’ by Trump Admin

https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-degrees-professional-trump-administration-11085695

 

Why would the Trump administration limit access to Parent PLUS loans? Can't have the poors helping their kids get an education? So frustrating.

 

To be fair, Trump probably doesn’t know what any of those are.

“Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV…”

 

As most of you know, I'm a multi-degree card-carrying nurse. I was an ADN for over 25 years. I'm a brown man from NYC who went to school in the mid- to late '80s. I've been called so many things, from orderly to Dr. I personally could care less what classification a nurse is.

However, like most things in life, its never about be its about the one that come after me.

Here is a perspective on why nursing not being classified as a profession is such a big deal

At a public University (LSU), going from RN to Doctorate—the level usually required to obtain tenure and teach at the college level—costs about $134,000.
That’s $34,000 more than the current federal student loan cap of $100,000 for many nursing students. In other words, nurses are being asked to reach the highest levels of education and responsibility in academia… without realistic

LSU tuition: https://www.lsuhsc.edu/tuition/nursing.aspx

My issue is this: chiropractors are classified as a “profession,” but physical therapists (do they not provide comparable care?) and PAs, nurses, architects, etc., are not.

Then you add in the fact that ministers are able to take on $200K in student loans. Realistically, how are they ever supposed to pay that back? At that point, the whole setup starts to feel more like a scam than a system that actually makes sense.

 

I just wish we would rework the entire system.

I have never been a fan of lawyers using the title "Doctor" on the basis of their JD. However, I'd be a lot more comfortable with them using the title than Chiropractors. I think that the designation of a "professional" degree is already problematic. To me, if the degree ties directly to a profession it is a form of a professional degree. It's a degree that is necessary to qualify you for a specific profession. You can't become a registered nurse without a nursing degree* just like you can't become a lawyer without a law degree* and you'll definitely need a degree in accounting to become a CPA.

The issue at hand is the availability of student aid for "professional" degrees. But our entire student aid system is also screwed up for reasons well beyond this. The barrier to entry to a profession should not be a six figure tuition bill. We should want doctors who are the most qualified and not the ones who come from families with the means to pay and absorb that level of tuition. We should not expect a nurse or nursing educator to possess six figure debt.

It just doesn't need to be this way.

*Yes, I know there are some non-degree RN programs and some states where you can read the law.

 

Id be willing to bet RFK Jr. had some say in this list.

 

Sorry to go off on a tangent here. I’ve been seeing a chiropractor once a month or so for the past 30 years or more. It helps me a lot.

You just have to see a good chiropractor. Mediocre chiropractors seem more common. They don’t help me. A good one helps me a lot.

 

There is evidence chiropractics can help some conditions, but it is not an evidence-based practice.

 

I agree with that. Also, to be clear I don't disagree with Steve's main point or the other posts in the thread on this topic.

 

I second this, many years ago I had severe pain at the back of my neck, and a friend tried to convince me to give his chiropractor a shot. I was absolutely miserable, and figured I had nothing to lose (covered by insurance), so I went. Instant relief after the first adjustment, and it got progressively better until I had no pain (and still don't).

Just a year or so ago, I had severe sciatica that was so painful, I actually went to the ER (it was on a Sunday). They offered me painkillers, I said no thank you and took a non-narcotic injection just to take the edge off, then got to the chiropractor. Not instant total relief, but the first visit helped immensely, and within a few adjustments, it was gone.

I'm the biggest skeptic in the world, but I swear by chiropractic.

 

Myth vs. Fact: The Definition of Professional Degrees

https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/myth-vs-fact-definition-of-professional-degrees

 

November 24, 2025

 

The Administration's definition of "professional degree" says "JD or LLB" so they aren't just hung up on the "D" word

 

As to chiropractors, even the MD that runs Quackwatch admits that chiropractors help people. He just doesn’t like unsupported claims or bogus theory.

I'm undergoing PT right now for carpal tunnel and arthritis in my hands. The therapists aren't doing anything a chiropractor could not do legally and legitimately.

 

The parts of chiropractic that work and are backed by science are also part of the training for a PT. So much so that Chiropractors have fought to restrict the scope of practice of PTs so that they could (along with D.O.'s) be the sole professionals able to do spinal manipulation.

There are absolutely times when spinal manipulation is the best course of action. The problem is that it is the only trick in a chiropractor's pocket and they purport to use it for conditions where it has no scientific basis (such as asthma).

Chiropractic, as a science, is woo. It's built entirely on the idea of subluxations causing all of your health issues. This is resoundingly disproven by scientific study. The parts of chiropractic that work well can, and arguably should, be done by a Physical Therapist. A quick glance at YouTube shows me wayyyyy too many chiropractors who enjoy playing with the Y-strap and other unnecessarily violent adjustment methods, sometimes on patients for whom that treatment would be contraindicated by any medical professional.

I say this because every time the debate comes up people flock to it saying how much their chiro helped them. Good! I'm glad. But you could have received that same care from an evidence based provider. A quick scan also seems to indicate that chiropractors paralyzing or killing patients is far more of an issue than it is with PTs.

 

This is one of the main points that baffles me.