One of the most recent outrages that the recent “Big Bad Bill” has implemented is the delisting of “Professional Designations” for certain professions. You can see a listing in the Department of Education’s website but it includes:
Nursing
Nurse Practitioners
Physician Assistants (PAs)
Audiology
Education
Speech/Language Therapy
Licensed Clinical Social Work
Occupational Therapists
Physical Therapists
As a nurse with eight years of college and university education and countless hours of continuing education hours every year to remain current and at the top of my “Profession,” I am insulted and appalled. I have been a nurse for over 40 years. I spent most of my career in Critical Care ICU, ER, and as an Administrative Nursing Supervisor.
Nurses are the professional caregivers who are at your bedside 24/7 in the hospital monitoring your condition, alerting doctors to changes that affect your health and life. We are the ones who hold your hands, help you navigate some of the scariest, momentous and challenging times in your lives. We work long shifts, night shifts, holidays, and weekend shifts, we are in the hospitals, doctors offices, Public Health Departments, school systems, research facilities, and countless other venues caring for the health and welfare of our nation. Your outcomes are related to our staffing ratios and our care of you.
We already face a staffing shortage of nursing in this country. This bill will affect the ability of graduate nursing students to obtain federal education loans thus affecting the recruitment and retention of nurses in our “Profession.” This will affect your health and well-being.
This is a continued effort of the current administration to devalue science, research, education and the health of our nation. It is an effort to dumb down the populace (we know he likes stupid people; they’re easier to dupe and manage), and if a bunch of people die (especially if they are sick, disabled, or elderly), well, I’m sure they consider that a win as it is less of a drain on society.
Think about it. Do you want healthcare professionals, educators, and other professions to be devalued and to have obstacles put in the way of their education? Do you want the educators teaching your children to be less educated and less qualified? Do you want the person holding your life or the life of your loved ones in their hands to be less educated?
