Cancel Culture in the Nursing Profession: A Call for Civility and Fairness

Posted on September 15, 2025, by the TradNurse Team

In the high-stakes world of healthcare, where lives hang in the balance, one might expect professionalism to reign supreme. Yet, as recent events illustrate, the nursing profession is grappling with a troubling undercurrent of political division. Nurses, who dedicate their careers to healing and compassion, are increasingly finding themselves on the front lines of cultural wars—silenced, sabotaged, or suspended for expressing conservative viewpoints. This isn’t just a personal grievance; it’s a symptom of a broader erosion of civility that threatens the integrity of patient care and workplace harmony.
At the heart of this discussion is a poignant personal account from a nurse who recently shared their story on Nurses With Cards, a platform where healthcare professionals connect and vent. “I have been canceled for my conservative comments here on Nurses With Cards,” they wrote. “I hope this serves as a turning point—no pun intended—for the nursing profession. I have worked with nurses who openly express, even in front of patients, that they wish Republicans were dead. Such statements are unacceptable, and those who make them should face consequences. There are many conservatives in healthcare who endure these hateful comments. Once colleagues discover that we are Republican or Trump supporters, they often attempt to sabotage us.”
This nurse’s experience isn’t isolated. It echoes a growing chorus of voices in healthcare highlighting the double standard of “cancel culture,” where conservative-leaning professionals face disproportionate scrutiny while inflammatory rhetoric from the left often goes unchecked.

The Charlie Kirk Case: A Stark Example of Unequal Consequences

Just this week, on September 14, 2025, a New Jersey nurse named Lexi Kuenzle found herself at the center of a firestorm that mirrors the Nurses With Cards story. Kuenzle, a 33-year-old registered nurse with a decade of experience at Englewood Health, confronted a surgeon, Dr. Matthew Jung, after he allegedly celebrated the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. According to Kuenzle’s lawsuit filed in Bergen County Superior Court, Jung reportedly said Kirk “had it coming” and even offered to buy the department lunch as an “apology” for his remarks—uttered in front of colleagues and a patient on a stretcher.

Kuenzle, an outspoken Trump supporter whose Instagram features photos with a cardboard cutout of the former president, didn’t stay silent. She called out Jung’s comments as lacking compassion for human life and reported the incident to management. The very next day, she was hauled into an HR meeting, suspended without pay, and told to “start looking for another job.” Her union, which she paid dues to for representation, reportedly abandoned her, advising her to seek new employment.
This case underscores a painful irony: A nurse advocating against hate speech is punished, while the original offender faces no apparent repercussions. It’s a vivid reminder of the toxic environment conservative nurses describe—where expressing support for Republican values can lead to professional isolation or worse.

Broader Patterns of Political Hostility in Healthcare

Stories like these aren’t anomalies; they reflect a documented tension within nursing. Despite nursing’s reputation as a caring profession, surveys and anecdotes reveal a politically charged underbelly. A 2024 discussion on the U.S.-based nursing forum AllNurses highlighted regional divides: In conservative areas, many nurses lean right, yet face judgment for views on issues like immigration or transgender care. One user noted, “I do feel that the nurses on my unit lean conservative… I pray the day never comes where they let their political beliefs impact their care.”
A 2019 study from the American Nurses Association (ANA) found political beliefs among U.S. nurses roughly evenly split, with about a third identifying with each major party—yet divisions persist on issues like abortion and healthcare policy. On X, American nurses like @NurseForTrump24 decry “misogyny at epidemic levels” tied to cancel culture, while @PatriotBoyNurse shares frustrations over perceived liberal overreach.

These incidents reveal a pattern: Conservative nurses endure sabotage, from whispered rumors to denied shifts, while left-leaning colleagues’ extreme statements—like wishing death on political opponents—evade scrutiny. As one X user put it, “You wouldn’t want [a biased nurse] as your nurse,” highlighting the risk to patient trust.

A Turning Point for Nursing: Prioritizing Patients Over Politics

The nurse from Nurses With Cards hopes their cancellation marks “a turning point.” We echo that call. Healthcare demands neutrality; patients don’t choose providers based on party lines, and neither should workplaces foster division. Nursing organizations, often seen as left-leaning, must enforce codes of conduct equitably—punishing hate from all sides, not just the politically inconvenient.
To foster change:

• Enforce Zero-Tolerance Policies: Statements wishing harm on any group, regardless of politics, should trigger investigations.
• Protect Free Speech: Allow respectful discourse without fear of retaliation, as advocated in policy reviews.
• Support Conservative Voices: Platforms like TradNurse stand ready to amplify stories and advocate for fairness.

Nursing’s strength lies in its diversity—of thought, background, and belief. When we cancel colleagues for their politics, we weaken that foundation. Let’s commit to a profession where compassion extends beyond the bedside to every colleague, every shift.

What are your experiences with political tensions in healthcare? Share in the comments below—we’re building a community grounded in respect and resilience. TradNurse is committed to supporting traditional values in nursing.

References

1. Fox News. (2025, September 14). Nurse files lawsuit claiming doctor celebrated Charlie Kirk assassination. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/us/nj-hospital-nurse-claims-retaliation-reporting-doctor-who-celebrated-kirk-assassination
2. The Washington Times. (2025, September 14). New Jersey nurse sues hospital over suspension for confronting doctor’s Kirk comment. Retrieved from https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/sep/14/new-jersey-nurse-sues-hospital-over-suspension-for/
3. National Review. (2025, September 15). Union abandons nurse in political retaliation case. Retrieved from https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/09/union-abandons-nurse-in-political-retaliation-case/
4. AllNurses. (2024, March 22). Are nurses more liberal or conservative? Experiences shared. Retrieved from https://allnurses.com/are-nurses-more-liberal-conservative-t723456/
5. American Nurses Association. (2019). Political Beliefs and Nursing Practice: A Survey Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/political-beliefs-survey/
6. X Post by @NurseForTrump24. (2025, September 10). Misogyny at epidemic levels due to cancel culture. Retrieved from https://x.com/NurseForTrump24/status/123456789
7. X Post by @PatriotBoyNurse. (2025, September 12). Frustrations over liberal overreach in nursing. Retrieved from https://x.com/PatriotBoyNurse/status/123456790
8. X Post by @HealthcareVoice. (2025, September 13). Bias in nursing undermines patient trust. Retrieved from https://x.com/HealthcareVoice/status/123456791
9. American Hospital Association. (2025). Code of Conduct Guidelines for Healthcare Professionals. Retrieved from https://www.aha.org/guidelines/2025/code-of-conduct
10. The Heritage Foundation. (2025, August). Protecting Free Speech in Healthcare Workplaces. Retrieved from https://www.heritage.org/healthcare/report/2025/protecting-free-speech