Slides including gender identity questions in a doctoral nursing program went viral on right-wing social media
CAITLIN SIEVERS
Arizona Mirror
Arizona Senate Republicans are accusing the University of Arizona school of nursing of “stealing the innocence of young children” by instructing doctoral candidates on how to discuss gender identity issues with patients.
In a Friday morning statement, the Republicans accused the school of “catering to a radical left agenda” after learning that students at the school were advised to begin asking children as young as 3 years old if they felt like they were a girl or a boy inside during annual wellness check ups.
“I’m absolutely sickened that this institution of higher learning is perpetuating the lie that a person’s gender is based off feelings and not their God-given biological sex established upon conception,” Republican Sen. Janae Shamp, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Health & Human Services, said in the statement. “This is completely groomer garbage that strives to confuse our kids in an effort to cater to the evil that is being accepted by today’s society. As a nurse, I am so disheartened that the next generation of nurses are being hijacked of their capabilities to deliver ethical care.”
Pam Scott, a spokeswoman for the university, told the Arizona Mirror that the College of Nursing does not recommend that practitioners ask young children gender-related questions during wellness checks.
“The college does not have a policy or position on this issue and does not integrate this type of training or education into its curriculum,” Scott said, via email. “The college teaches that practitioners should always work with the parents and guardians and with their permission, within their scope of the practice, and in alignment with the employing organization’s guidance when treating pediatric patients.”
