Ohio State University is requiring students in health sciences courses to reflect on their privileges related to race, sexual orientation, and ability. Details of the controversial coursework, which is part of the university’s “Individual Differences in Patient/Client Populations” course, were exposed by Do No Harm, a group of health professionals dedicated to safeguarding healthcare from divisive and discriminatory ideologies.
In the course, students were presented with the option to choose between three “knapsacks,” each containing a series of activities designed to explore their perspectives on privilege. The choices included the “white privilege knapsack,” the “heterosexual privilege knapsack,” and the “able-body privilege knapsack.” Additionally, students were required to watch the documentary “White People” and provide reflections on the meaning of “white” to them.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, strongly criticized this course, denouncing it as a form of indoctrination. According to Goldfarb, Ohio State University’s Health Sciences Program reflects a broader trend seen in universities across the nation, where divisive and political ideologies are incorporated into the curriculum with the goal of influencing students rather than educating them.
“The curriculum within Ohio State University’s Health Sciences Program highlights a broader trend found in many universities nationwide – the adoption of divisive and political ideologies aimed at indoctrinating students,” said Goldfarb.
Goldfarb went on to emphasize the obvious point that healthcare programs at universities should prioritize equipping future healthcare providers with the essential skills, knowledge, and empathetic understanding to deliver the best care possible, rather than diverting attention to divisive topics that may not contribute to the core objectives of healthcare education.
Last week, the University of Minnesota came under fire for a similar course program that offered students in its School of Public Health to participate in an “Anti-Racism 101” course. The program attempts to convince students that “racism is the status quo” in “all white settler colonialist societies.” It also declares racism to be a “public health emergency” for the general public.
