HJAR Jul/Aug 2026

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JUL / AUG 2026 49 Nickolas Zaller Professor and Associate Dean for Research College of Nursing University of Medical Sciences professionals. Many rural communities al- ready struggle to recruit and retain health- care providers. In many such communi- ties, advanced practice nurses are the sole providers of care. Nurses working in rural communities are the very backbone of our healthcare system. Making it more difficult to become an advanced practice nurse will only serve to weaken an already overly strained healthcare system. Nursing organizations argue that ad- vanced practice training in nursing meets both conditions stipulated by the Depart- ment of Education’s definition of what con- stitutes a professional degree. As outlined by the National Institute of Nursing Re- search framework, nurses are instrumen- tal in optimizing health for all, addressing the conditions of daily life, addressing the distribution of health, preventing and managing disease, and advancing systems to optimize care. Nursing involvement in each of these areas clearly emphasizes its professional role in the healthcare system. The Department of Education noted that the finalized rule is not meant as a value judgment about nurses. Yet, even though thousands of nurses submitted formal comments opposing the finalized rule adoption, it proceeded anyway, leaving nurses to wonder if the critical and lifesav- ing work they do each day truly is valued by decision-makers in government. n REFERENCES “Nursing Workforce Fact Sheet,” American Association of Colleges of Nursing, updated May 2026, https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/ fact-sheets/nursing-workforce-fact-sheet. “Arkansas Faces a Critical Nurse Shortage, Rural Areas Hit Hardest,” KATV, May 8, 2025, https://katv.com/community/little-rock-arc/ arkansas-faces-critical-nurse-shortage-rural- areas-hit-hardest-arkansas-is-struggling-with- a-significant-nurse-shortage-with-the-state- adding-only-about-76-of-nurses-compared-to- the-national-demand-according-to-a-study-by- global-data-plc-and-the-arkan. “Reimagining and Improving Education- Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations,” Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, May 1, 2026, https://www.federalregister.gov/ d o c ume n t s /2 02 6/05/0 1 /2 02 6 - 08 5 5 6/ reimagining-and-improving-student-education- federal-student-loan-program-final-regulations. Charmaine Robinson, “How Much Does Nursing School Cost?” NurseJournal, July 9, 2025, https:// nursejournal.org/resources/how-much-does- nursing-school-cost/. Angelina Walker, “Poll: 59% of Nurses ‘Less Likely’ to Seek Graduate Degree Because of DoED Loan Policy,” Nurse.org, March 2, 2026, https://nurse. org/news/nurses-react-doe-loan-limit-change- poll-results/. American Nurses Association, “American Nurses Association’s Statement on the Department of Education’s Finalized Graduate Student Loan Rulemaking,” press release, April 30, 2026, https://www.nursingworld.org/news/ news-releases/2026-news-releases/american- nurses-associations-statement-on-the- department-of-educations-finalized-graduate- student-loan-rulemaking/. Kaiser Family Foundation, “Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs),” n.d., accessed June 3, 2026, https://www.kff.org/ other-health/state-indicator/primary-care- health-professional-shortage-areas-hpsas/?curr entTimeframe=0&selectedRows=%7B%22states %22:%7B%22arkansas%22:%7B%7D%7D%7D&so rtModel=% Nickolas Zaller is a professor and associate dean for research in the College of Nursing at the University of Medical Sciences.He hasmore than two decades of experience conducting interdisciplinary research across a range of topics including behavioral health, infectious diseases,global health, incarceration,and violence prevention.His current focus is on elevating the role of nursing research to address patient care needs and to improve population health andwellness. for advanced training in nursing typically exceeds $30,000 per year. This amount is significantly more than the current annual federal loan cap specified by the finalized RISE rule. More Than a Funding Issue The second issue is that the final rule does not define an advanced nursing de- gree as a professional degree. This has two effects: It restricts advanced nursing students to the graduate program funding paradigm and has been perceived by many nurses as undermining respect for the pro- fession of nursing. A recent poll among active nurses found that 59% of respondents reported that the RISE final rule changes made them less likely to pursue a graduate degree and 43% reported that the changes sent a negative message about the value of nursing as a profession. While the stated intent of the finalized RISE rule is to reduce student debt and to encourage institutions to lower tuition costs, the finalized rule will restrict loan support for a host of advanced nurs- ing degrees including Master of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doc- tor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice, and Doc- tor of Philosophy in Nursing. Advanced practice nursing degree pro- grams are foundational to meeting the healthcare workforce needs in the US, es- pecially in rural communities. InArkansas, more than a third of residents live in des- ignated Primary Care Health Professional ShortageAreas, meaning they live in coun- ties experiencing a shortage of healthcare