# Online Holocaust and Genocide Education in Undergraduate Nursing: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Ethical Integrity and Professional Identity

## TL;DR

This study explores how an online seminar on the Holocaust and genocide influences nursing students' understanding of ethics and professional identity.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel approach to integrating genocide education into nursing curricula to strengthen ethical and professional development.

## Key findings

- Students had high knowledge of the Holocaust but limited awareness of other genocides like Armenian and Rwandan.
- Five themes emerged: ethical judgment, patient advocacy, historical trauma, genocide prevention, and educational approaches.
- Interactive online seminars with structured debriefing can enhance nursing students' ethical reflection and professional identity.

## Abstract

Background: Professional identity and ethical integrity are foundational to nursing practice and are shaped in part by educational experiences. This study evaluated an online Holocaust and genocide educational seminar delivered to fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students and explored how students linked seminar content to professional identity formation, ethical vigilance, and patient advocacy. Methods: We conducted a descriptive mixed-methods educational evaluation. Students completed an anonymous pre-seminar survey (demographics, motivations for studying nursing, self-identified desirable professional qualities, and self-rated knowledge of the Holocaust and other genocides) and an anonymous post-seminar feedback survey with four open-ended questions. Quantitative items were summarized descriptively; qualitative data were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Results: Of the 205 students who attended the seminar, 133 completed the pre-seminar survey, and 110 completed the post-seminar survey. Students reported high baseline knowledge of the Holocaust but limited knowledge of the Armenian and Rwandan genocides. The five themes that emerged are as follows: (1) ethical judgment and the influence of nurses; (2) patient advocacy and social justice; (3) the effect of historical and contemporary trauma on students’ learning experience; (4) genocide awareness and prevention; and (5) approaches to education and content presentation. Conclusions: Carefully facilitated Holocaust and genocide education, delivered through interactive online pedagogy and structured debriefing, may support late-stage nursing students’ reflection on ethical integrity and professional identity during the transition to professional practice.