B.C. nurse’s transgender comments were unprofessional conduct, committee finds

The trauma bay is photographed during simulation training at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto on August 13, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin

A disciplinary panel of the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives says a nurse committed unprofessional conduct for making “discriminatory and derogatory statements” about transgender people.

The panel’s decision released Thursday says Amy Hamm’s statements made across “various online platforms” between July 2018 and March 2021 were partly designed “to elicit fear, contempt and outrage against members of the transgender community.”

The decision says Hamm publicly identified herself as a nurse or nurse educator while making statements that were mostly “untruthful and unfair,” challenging the “existence of transgender women” and advocating for less “constitutional protection” for them.

The panel found Hamm’s statements were targeted toward “vulnerable and marginalized” people and her comments may deter transgender people from accessing the health care system.

The decision says the statements included an online article identifying Hamm as a nurse educator where she claimed that transgender activists wanted to “infiltrate or destroy” spaces designed for women only.

A hearing still has to be set to determine the penalty for Hamm, and the decision says Hamm can appeal the ruling in B.C. Supreme Court.

“By identifying herself as a nurse or nurse educator while posting discriminatory and/or derogatory opinions regarding a vulnerable and historically disadvantaged group on various online platforms, (Hamm) undermined the reputation and integrity of the nursing profession,” the decision says.

“The respondent is free to disseminate her views to the public without identifying herself as a nurse or nurse educator or her affiliation with the college.”

This report by Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press, was first published March 13, 2025.