Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Nursing Education: Nurse Practitioners as Critical Intellectuals

In most nursing schools, Holocaust and genocide studies are not part of the curriculum. However, studying past horrors involving health care professionals is essential for forming a clear moral compass to navigate future nursing practice. This article analyzes a unique Holocaust and genocide curriculum for graduate nurse practitioner students and its effects on participants.

The students wrote reflective accounts, which were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

The studies had a profound effect on the students, who adopted a critical perspective and became more sensitive to wrongdoing and social suffering, more involved in current ethical and social issues, and more willing to engage in social advocacy. The course strengthened the moral responsibility of the students, transforming them into critical intellectuals.

Holocaust and genocide studies enhance nurses' humanistic approach and help them confront dogma, challenge social denial, and resist oppression, discrimination, and structural racism. [.