Dr. Patricia L. Starck
Dean Emerita • University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Cizik School of Nursing
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Cizik School of Nursing nominates Dr. Patricia L. Starck, Dean Emerita, for the 2023 Nurses with Global Impact award.
Dr. Patricia Starck led a team of scholars to produce the documentary, “Caring Corrupted: The Killing Nurses of the Third Reich.” This bold undertaking answers the questions, “Why, how, and what prompted the professional nursing community in Germany to engage in the termination of patients.”
Freshman nursing students at the University of Texas, Houston, and Columbia University are required to view this film. Nurses With Global Impact, Inc anticipates that any nurse who views this film will encourage their colleagues and local schools of nursing to adopt this bioethical masterpiece for viewing; it’s available free on YouTube.
This film examines the Holocaust, from 1933 to 1945. The use of gas chambers as a tool for mass termination of people is generally known. Not well-known is how gas chambers were originally placed in designated hospitals for mass patient termination, with nurses playing a major role in preparing patients. Due to public outcry, hospital gas chambers were discontinued. Post-hospital gas chamber usage and hospital-based terminations continued through individual physician termination orders, mostly carried out by nurses.
The film aims to inform nurses and raise nurse awareness of why, how, and what motivated the nursing professional workforce to be the front line of the termination programs. Nurses must be grounded in bioethical principles and have a strong moral sense of what is right and what is wrong. Without well-founded bioethics and nursing morals, this could happen again!
Thank you, Dr. Starck. And thank you to the many contributors to the film Caring Corrupted: The Killing Nurses of the Third Reich. Congratulations, Dr. Patricia Starck, a 2023 Nurses With Global Impact Honoree!
– Deb
Patricia’s story:
Dr. Starck traces her interest in rehabilitation to an accident that left a teenage cousin a paraplegic. After graduating from nursing school, she worked as a rehab nurse, and her lifelong research focus became the alleviation of physical and psychological pain.
She sought the mentorship of Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist who developed logotherapy as a rehabilitation method after surviving the Auschwitz death camp.
Logotherapy is a future-focused approach that helps people find meaning in life. Her work with Frankl inspired her to lead a team of scholars to produce the 56-minute documentary “Caring Corrupted: The Killing Nurses of the Third Reich.” This cautionary tale depicts the corruption of nursing ethics during the Nazi era. It is widely used as a teaching tool and is viewed by all Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston students during orientation.
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Cizik School of Nursing nominates Dr. Patricia L. Starck, Dean Emerita, for the 2023 Nurses with Global Impact award.
Dr. Patricia Starck led a team of scholars to produce the documentary, “Caring Corrupted: The Killing Nurses of the Third Reich.” This bold undertaking answers the questions, “Why, how, and what prompted the professional nursing community in Germany to engage in the termination of patients.”
Freshman nursing students at the University of Texas, Houston, and Columbia University are required to view this film. Nurses With Global Impact, Inc anticipates that any nurse who views this film will encourage their colleagues and local schools of nursing to adopt this bioethical masterpiece for viewing; it’s available free on YouTube.
This film examines the Holocaust, from 1933 to 1945. The use of gas chambers as a tool for mass termination of people is generally known. Not well-known is how gas chambers were originally placed in designated hospitals for mass patient termination, with nurses playing a major role in preparing patients. Due to public outcry, hospital gas chambers were discontinued. Post-hospital gas chamber usage and hospital-based terminations continued through individual physician termination orders, mostly carried out by nurses.
The film aims to inform nurses and raise nurse awareness of why, how, and what motivated the nursing professional workforce to be the front line of the termination programs. Nurses must be grounded in bioethical principles and have a strong moral sense of what is right and what is wrong. Without well-founded bioethics and nursing morals, this could happen again!
Thank you, Dr. Starck. And thank you to the many contributors to the film Caring Corrupted: The Killing Nurses of the Third Reich. Congratulations, Dr. Patricia Starck, a 2023 Nurses With Global Impact Honoree!
– Deb
Patricia’s story:
Dr. Starck traces her interest in rehabilitation to an accident that left a teenage cousin a paraplegic. After graduating from nursing school, she worked as a rehab nurse, and her lifelong research focus became the alleviation of physical and psychological pain.
She sought the mentorship of Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist who developed logotherapy as a rehabilitation method after surviving the Auschwitz death camp.Logotherapy is a future-focused approach that helps people find meaning in life. Her work with Frankl inspired her to lead a team of scholars to produce the 56-minute documentary “Caring Corrupted: The Killing Nurses of the Third Reich.” This cautionary tale depicts the corruption of nursing ethics during the Nazi era. It is widely used as a teaching tool and is viewed by all Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston students during orientation.
