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DC is quietly rewriting federal student loans—and nursing grad programs were left off the “professional degree” list that gets higher loan caps.

On paper it looks like a tweak. In real life, it’s a direct hit on the nursing profession: NP, CRNA, CNS, nurse midwifery, and nurse educator tracks all get pushed into the “lower cap” bucket in a country that’s been screaming nursing shortage for 30 years.

Some influencers are saying, “Relax, this is good. It’ll force schools to lower tuition.”  Let’s be real: programs with waitlists around the block don’t suddenly cut tuition in half because DC lowered federal loan caps. They just:

• Keep prices high,
• Fill seats with students who have family money, private loans, or employer sponsorship,
• And shut out the bedside nurses who can’t bridge the gap.

Loan caps don’t “discipline” schools. 

In this 11-minute breakdown, I walk through:

• What changed in the draft loan rules
• How this chokes the pipeline for NPs, CRNAs, CNSs, midwives, and nurse educators
• Why “manufactured scarcity” is profitable for staffing agencies and big systems
• And why we must treat this as a war on the nursing profession, not a harmless policy tweak

👉 Take Action:
• Share this with 3 nurses thinking about grad school
• Call or email your reps: “Add nursing to the professional degree loan list with higher caps”
• Tell your hospital and school leadership you support that change—loudly and proudly

If you’re a nurse who feels that knot in your stomach when something doesn’t add up, you’re not crazy—you’re awake.

🩺 Ethics training for nurses who refuse to be silent: RighteousRN.com

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In this episode of Nurses Out Loud, Jodi O’Malley, MSN, RN, connects three threads that most people never see as related: the quiet war on the nursing profession, the decades-long neglect of women’s health and menopause, and a surprising invitation to Israel that became a spiritual reset.

First, Jodi breaks down how federal student loan rules are being rewritten so that nursing graduate programs were left off the “professional degree” list—the tier that gets higher loan caps. She explains, in plain language, how this move chokes the pipeline for NPs, CRNAs, CNSs, nurse midwives, and nurse educators, and how manufactured scarcity in nursing translates into longer waits, fewer access points, and never-ending burnout at the bedside.

Then she zooms out to the bigger picture: the faulty hormone replacement study that left a generation of women suffering through menopause, the way we medicate people without giving them coping skills, and why she sees all of this as part of a deeper good vs. evil battle over health, truth, and human dignity. Finally, Jodi shares a deeply personal update—how, in the middle of a spiritual valley, she was invited to Israel as a delegate with Trinity Broadcasting Network and the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, and what it means for a whistleblower nurse whose name traces back to “woman from Judea.”

👉 In this episode:

• DC’s loan-cap “reform” and the war on the nursing profession
• How starving nursing grad programs locks in the shortage for years
• Menopause, bad science, and women paying the price
• Why Jodi believes this is a spiritual battle, not just a policy fight
• The story behind her upcoming trip to Israel and Judea

🔹 Nurses: Want to protect your license and your conscience?
Visit RighteousRN.com for ethics CEU training built from real whistleblower case studies and post-2020 nursing reality.

🔹 Stay connected:
Follow our new podcast feed NursesOutLoud (no spaces) on your favorite podcast platform for more short-form Nurse News Analysis and frontline perspective.

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⚖️ Righteous RN — CE courses in nursing ethics, advocacy & whistleblower courage. Restoring integrity, grit, and faith to healthcare. Use code NOL20 for 20% off!

🎙️ Affiliates personally used by me

Christian Functional Medicine Academy (CFMA) — For healthcare professionals licensed and unlicensed as well as certified health and wellness coaches. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.
Functional Nurse Academy (FNA)
— Functional medicine training by nurses, for nurses. Advance your skills in holistic, evidence-based, root-cause healing. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.

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When de minimis mistakes become career-ending labels, nurses need courage, clarity, and a plan.

Hosted by Jodi O’Malley, MSN, RN · NursesOutLoud

 Kansas nurses (and others nationwide) are being labeled “unprofessional” for clerical/technical lapses (late renewals, wrong checkboxes, website wording). Pressure to sign consent agreements can trigger NPDB/Nursys listings that shadow careers for years. In this post: Amy Siple’s story, why consent orders “travel,” your First 48 Hours response plan, and policy fixes we can champion together.

 Ethics anchors (2025 ANA Code)

To learn more about ethics & earn CEU’s visit https://www.righteousrn.com

We don’t fight because we’re angry; we fight because we’re ethical.

If you’re hurting, you’re not alone

Board discipline is a leading driver of moral injury among nurses. If you’re in a dark place, please talk to someone you trust today—colleague, pastor, counselor—and, if needed, the 988 Lifeline (US). Your life is priceless. Your identity is deeper than your job title.

About the Guest:

Amy Siple, APRN, FNP is a national speaker on older-adult care and clinician empowerment. A longtime LTC NP and former president of the Kansas APRN Association, she helped secure Full Practice Authority in Kansas. Learn more at amysiple.com and on Substack at AmySiple.

Contact Amy:  [email protected]   ~   Web: amysiple.com

Support the show

📬 Never miss a show! NursesOutLoud.Substack.com

🎙️ Show Sponsors

🩺 Through Cocoa Pharmacy, you can connect with a licensed provider to discuss your situation and access prescription medications — including Ivermectin. Tell them NurseOutLoud sent you!

⚖️ Righteous RN — CE courses in nursing ethics, advocacy & whistleblower courage. Restoring integrity, grit, and faith to healthcare. Use code NOL20 for 20% off!

🎙️ Affiliates personally used by me

Christian Functional Medicine Academy (CFMA) — For healthcare professionals licensed and unlicensed as well as certified health and wellness coaches. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.
Functional Nurse Academy (FNA)
— Functional medicine training by nurses, for nurses. Advance your skills in holistic, evidence-based, root-cause healing. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.

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Nurse News Analysis with Jodi O’Malley, MSN, RN 

A postpartum nurse at Ohio State Wexner was allegedly strangled and dragged down a hallway while trying to protect a newborn in the middle of a domestic dispute. Despite the violence — and an active protection order against the attacker — leadership allegedly never checked on the nurse that night. Jodi breaks down what happened, why this is a system problem, how workplace violence is being normalized, and what nurses should demand from hospitals when safety is violated.

Resources & actions:

📄 Read the coverage: Columbus Dispatch report on the alleged assault at OSU Wexner.

🧾 Action step for nurses: Review your hospital’s workplace-violence policy and ask:

“What actually happens when a nurse is assaulted here?” Bring gaps to your unit council, safety committee, or union.

Documentation reminder: If you experience workplace violence, document it in incident reports, emails to leadership, and (if needed) personal notes with dates/times.

 

Support the show

📬 Never miss a show! NursesOutLoud.Substack.com

🎙️ Show Sponsors

🩺 Through Cocoa Pharmacy, you can connect with a licensed provider to discuss your situation and access prescription medications — including Ivermectin. Tell them NurseOutLoud sent you!

⚖️ Righteous RN — CE courses in nursing ethics, advocacy & whistleblower courage. Restoring integrity, grit, and faith to healthcare. Use code NOL20 for 20% off!

🎙️ Affiliates personally used by me

Christian Functional Medicine Academy (CFMA) — For healthcare professionals licensed and unlicensed as well as certified health and wellness coaches. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.
Functional Nurse Academy (FNA)
— Functional medicine training by nurses, for nurses. Advance your skills in holistic, evidence-based, root-cause healing. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.

Chemical Free Body - supplements I use and trust.

Immunemist - stop vira...

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What happens when a nurse follows the Code of Ethics—and pays the price?
 In today’s episode of Nurses Out Loud, postpartum nurse Michelle Spencer, RN walks us through what she witnessed on her unit: a shift from ~1 stillbirth/month to ~4/week after the COVID-19 shot was pushed in pregnancy. When Michelle raised concerns, shared internal communications, and advocated for real informed consent, she was punished—then fought back with a landmark lawsuit. This post distills our conversation through the lens of the 2025 Nursing Code of Ethics so nurses, parents, and professionals can see exactly how ethics is lived in real time.

“Ethics aren’t optional in nursing. They’re our compass, our covenant, and our courage in action.”

The Spike No One Wanted to Discuss

Michelle describes a hospital culture that went from celebrating healthy moms and babies to managing a surge in fetal demises—four per week where historically they saw ~four per year. Instead of investigating the obvious timeline, leadership allegedly offered deflections (“pesticides,” “moms aren’t healthy”) and sent an email titled “Record High Dead Babies”—focusing on procedures for handling remains, not investigating causes.

When Michelle shared the internal email externally, she was investigated, denied a retention bonus, and warned for “policy” violations—classic retaliation for raising safety concerns.

Read the complaint: Children’s Health Defense — Full Filing (PDF)

Why This Is Ethics—Not Politics

We walked through each provision because Michelle’s story is a living case study of the Code.

Provisions 1–3: Dignity, Commitment, Advocacy

• Provision 1: Respect for Human Dignity
   Michelle refused to treat babies as statistics; she honored each life as sacred.
  
  
  
• Provision 2: Primary Comm

Support the show

📬 Never miss a show! NursesOutLoud.Substack.com

🎙️ Show Sponsors

🩺 Through Cocoa Pharmacy, you can connect with a licensed provider to discuss your situation and access prescription medications — including Ivermectin. Tell them NurseOutLoud sent you!

⚖️ Righteous RN — CE courses in nursing ethics, advocacy & whistleblower courage. Restoring integrity, grit, and faith to healthcare. Use code NOL20 for 20% off!

🎙️ Affiliates personally used by me

Christian Functional Medicine Academy (CFMA) — For healthcare professionals licensed and unlicensed as well as certified health and wellness coaches. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.
Functional Nurse Academy (FNA)
— Functional medicine training by nurses, for nurses. Advance your skills in holistic, evidence-based, root-cause healing. Tell them NursesOutLoud sent you for $100 off.

Chemical Free Body - supplements I use and trust.

Immunemist - stop vira...