How one master’s thesis is championing gender-affirming nursing education.
Nurses make up the largest healthcare workforce in Canada, which means they play a massive role in providing gender-affirming care. But how exactly are nursing students actually learning to support transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) patients?
That’s the core question behind Jess Crawford’s recent master's research. In their thesis, Student and faculty perspectives of gender inclusive and affirming curricula in nursing: An interpretive description study, Crawford took a close look at the different ways students learn—from formal teaching and informal interactions to the overall school environment, often known as the ‘hidden curriculum.’
Through a scoping review, focus groups with nursing students, and interviews with educators, the findings were eye-opening. Crawford discovered that current nursing education often inadvertently contributes to the harm and invisibility of TGD people by maintaining strict gender norms (cisnormativity). Because of this, students frequently feel unprepared to care for TGD patients, educators feel under-resourced, and TGD students can feel excluded.
To fix this, Crawford’s research highlights a clear need for stronger faculty training, genuinely inclusive learning environments, and firm expectations from nursing regulators that gender-affirming education isn't just optional—it's essential.
For Crawford, this research was a deeply personal journey.
Reflecting on the support they received and a recent award for this research work, Crawford adds, ‘It takes many moments of seed‑planting and watering, that is, many people teaching, supporting, and believing in me, to make a master’s project possible. Any growth or success I’ve had, including receiving this award, comes from the immense love and encouragement I had in my corner.’
The impact of Crawford's thesis is already rippling out into the wider healthcare community. In June, they were an invited keynote speaker for the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, presenting a talk titled Nursing a queer identity, together. Drawing directly from the thesis, Crawford has also published three peer-reviewed, open-access papers and launched a dedicated online repository for gender-inclusive and affirming nursing resources.
So, what's next? This fall, backed by SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarship Doctoral funding, Crawford is heading to the University of Victoria to begin a PhD in Nursing. There, they plan to weave together planetary health and what they call ‘ecojoy’—queer and trans joy in nature and multi-species flourishing.
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