Other Titles
Teaching Through Tension: Case-Based Strategies for Navigating Socio political Challenges in Nursing Education [Title Slide]
Other Titles
Workshop
Abstract
Nursing education is shaped by complex sociopolitical forces that challenge faculty as they teach essential yet often contested topics, including LGBTQ+ health, racism and structural inequities, reproductive care, and social determinants of health, for example. As public discourse, regulatory pressures, and cultural tensions intensify, faculty must navigate how to uphold ethical, evidence-informed teaching while cultivating psychological safety, academic rigor, and meaningful learner engagement. Guided by the Access, Community, and Engagement (ACE) priorities at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, this workshop offers a globally adaptable, case-based approach for ethically and effectively facilitating sensitive or politicized content.
The session begins with an overview of contemporary issues and legislative efforts directly affecting nursing education, including pressures on curricular integrity, faculty decision-making, and student experiences. Participants will engage in interactive pedagogical scenarios drawn from real-world classroom dilemmas such as learner resistance, institutional constraints, conflicting cultural viewpoints, and challenges integrating health equity content across the curriculum. Small-group work will guide participants in analyzing these dilemmas using ethics-informed and trauma-informed teaching frameworks that emphasize human dignity, justice, harm reduction, and equitable access to learning.
Together, participants will generate forward-thinking, context-sensitive strategies that strengthen access, deepen community, and enhance engagement in diverse learning environments. Attendees will walk away with a set of adaptable tools—case templates, discussion frameworks, reflective prompts, and inclusive teaching strategies—that can be implemented across nursing programs globally. By centering ethical practice and inclusive pedagogy, this workshop equips educators to prepare future nurses to care effectively for diverse populations within increasingly complex sociopolitical landscapes.
Sigma Membership
Upsilon
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Expert Opinion (nationally/internationally recognized)
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Ethics, Faculty Development, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Nursing Education, Politics, Social Factors
Recommended Citation
Carney, Anthony; Taylor-Smalls, Sharon Ann; Birdsall, Stacia; Cill, Donna; and Dorritie, Richard, "Teaching Through Tension: Strategies for Navigating Sociopolitical Challenges in Nursing Education" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 235.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/235
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-08-29
Teaching Through Tension: Strategies for Navigating Sociopolitical Challenges in Nursing Education
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nursing education is shaped by complex sociopolitical forces that challenge faculty as they teach essential yet often contested topics, including LGBTQ+ health, racism and structural inequities, reproductive care, and social determinants of health, for example. As public discourse, regulatory pressures, and cultural tensions intensify, faculty must navigate how to uphold ethical, evidence-informed teaching while cultivating psychological safety, academic rigor, and meaningful learner engagement. Guided by the Access, Community, and Engagement (ACE) priorities at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, this workshop offers a globally adaptable, case-based approach for ethically and effectively facilitating sensitive or politicized content.
The session begins with an overview of contemporary issues and legislative efforts directly affecting nursing education, including pressures on curricular integrity, faculty decision-making, and student experiences. Participants will engage in interactive pedagogical scenarios drawn from real-world classroom dilemmas such as learner resistance, institutional constraints, conflicting cultural viewpoints, and challenges integrating health equity content across the curriculum. Small-group work will guide participants in analyzing these dilemmas using ethics-informed and trauma-informed teaching frameworks that emphasize human dignity, justice, harm reduction, and equitable access to learning.
Together, participants will generate forward-thinking, context-sensitive strategies that strengthen access, deepen community, and enhance engagement in diverse learning environments. Attendees will walk away with a set of adaptable tools—case templates, discussion frameworks, reflective prompts, and inclusive teaching strategies—that can be implemented across nursing programs globally. By centering ethical practice and inclusive pedagogy, this workshop equips educators to prepare future nurses to care effectively for diverse populations within increasingly complex sociopolitical landscapes.
Description
This workshop prepares nurse educators to confidently teach sensitive or politically charged topics by using practical, case-based strategies. Participants will explore real classroom dilemmas influenced by today’s sociopolitical climate and practice applying ethics-informed, trauma-informed, and equity-oriented teaching approaches. Through interactive group work, scenario analysis, and collaborative solution building, attendees will leave with adaptable tools they can use to promote psychological safety, support diverse learners, and uphold rigorous, evidence-based instruction across global educational settings.
Workshop Objectives: By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Analyze sociopolitical trends influencing nursing education using global, ethics informed frameworks.
2. Integrate trauma-informed and equity-oriented pedagogical strategies when facilitating sensitive or contested topics.
3. Case-based breakout groups analyzing realistic classroom dilemmas from multiple global perspectives.
Workshop Learning Strategies:
1. Case-based breakout groups analyzing realistic classroom dilemmas from multiple global perspectives.
2. Guided ethical decision-making exercises using universal ethics principles (human dignity, justice, trauma-informed, harm reduction, equity).
3. Collaborative solution mapping with facilitated whole-group synthesis.