Involvement of nurses in physician‐assisted dying

Bilsen, Johan; Stichele, Robert H. Vander; Mortier, Freddy; Deliens, Luc

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.02982.x

Cited by 52 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…As confirmed by international literature (11,17,18,25,26), DNR decisions are mostly made late in the course of the disease and the most important reasons for such decisions are disease-related. Age of the patient is only mentioned as a reason in combination with the underlying condition of the patient.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Nurses are most frequently consulted in decision-making, probably because they care for the patient on a daily basis and often have a confidential and close relationship with the patient and his or her next of kin (26). Almost all DNR decisions (93.7%) were shared with the nursing team via the patient's file, which minimizes inappropriate CPR (14,27).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Prevalence of Patients With Do-Not-Resuscitate Status on Acute Geriatric Wards in Flanders, Belgium

Gendt¹,

Bilsen²,

Noortgate³

et al. 2007

The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and M

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Patients With Do-Not-Resuscitate Status on Acute Geriatric Wards in Flanders, Belgium

Gendt¹,

Bilsen²,

Noortgate³

et al. 2007

The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and M

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“…6 However, physicians worldwide have reported that nurses are also involved in these medical practices, mostly in the decision-making and sometimes in the administration of the life-ending drugs. [1][2][3][7][8][9] Critical care, 10 oncology 11 and palliative care nurses 12,13 have confirmed this by reporting their own involvement, particularly in cases of euthanasia. 14,15 In Belgium, the law permits physicians to perform euthanasia under strict requirements of due care, one of which is that they must discuss the request with the nurses involved.…”

mentioning

confidence: 63%

“…7,9,17,22 Nevertheless, uncertainty remained about the understanding by the nurses of the act that they performed. In our study, nurses did administer life-ending drugs with the recognition that the death of the patient was intended.…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of nurses in physician-assisted deaths in Belgium

Inghelbrecht¹,

Bilsen²,

Mortier³

et al. 2010

Canadian Medical Association Journal

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Background: Belgium's law on euthanasia allows only physicians to perform the act. We investigated the involvement of nurses in the decision-making and in the preparation and administration of life-ending drugs with a pa tient's explicit request (euthanasia) or without an explicit request. We also examined factors associated with these deaths. Methods:In 2007, we surveyed 1678 nurses who, in an earlier survey, had reported caring for one or more pa tients who received a potential life-ending decision within the year before the survey. Eligible nurses were surveyed about their most recent case.

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“…Research in countries with legislation on assisted dying shows that nurses play a variety of decisive roles in the context of assisted dying. [12][13][14][15] But the debate is suffering from a division in ''pro'' and ''contra'' camps with the result that a consensus on values and best practices is far from being reached. 16 Leaving aside the issue whether such a consensus is necessary for responding effectively to the needs of patients, the question remains if healthcare professions have a specific voice in this regard.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Editorial

Monteverde

2017

Nurs Ethics

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Death is certain, its hour is uncertain. For centuries, this ancient truism has been a strong motif in the figurative arts, a source of religious and political control, intellectual creativity, and social commitment. It has also been a foundational concept for nursing, long before it became a professional practice and science. Nursing has always had a strong voice in favor of people who are suffering, being present at their bedside and giving empathic care to the living and the dying, helping people to cope with the certitude of death and the uncertainty of its hour. An expression of this ''natural'' endeavor of nursing can be found in the preamble to the code of ethics of the International Council of Nursing, which states that ''. .. Nurses have four fundamental responsibilities: to promote health, to prevent illness, to restore health and to alleviate suffering,'' 1 and culminates in stating that ''The need for nursing is universal.'' This special issue of Nursing Ethics explores different perspectives and possible future directions of this commitment in the context of assisted dying. There is a need for a deeper analysis from the perspective of nursing ethics in the light of actual and potential legislative changes globally. This editorial includes short summaries of some of these changes from members of the Editorial Board of Nursing Ethics. They reflect the situation of countries where legal provisions and/or societal debates have emerged that necessarily involve the engagement of nurses. Knowing about the finitude of life is particular to human beings. In the context of breathtaking advances in medical science in prolonging biological life, the palliative care approach translated what it meant to alleviate suffering under the conditions of modern medicine. It became a reminder that death and dying are not to be seen as blind spots in a medical system that creates health, but as integral aspects of life that call for a response that is both compassionate and effective. As societies change, truisms become challenges. In industrialized nations, both the certitude of death and the incertitude of its hour seem to be put under scrutiny. One major reason is the success of medicine in avoiding preventable death and in refining constantly what ''preventable'' means. As to the certitude of death, the dispute about the definition of death by neurological criteria is restarted each time some refined understandings about how the brain works are presented. The legal battle of the parents of Jahi McMath in California, who succeeded in questioning the validity of her daughter's death certificate, may be seen as an isolated tragic situation, but it stands as a symbol for the challenges surrounding the declaration of death under the conditions of modern medicine. 2 As to the incertitude of the hour of death, planning one's own end of life turns up as a social imperative alongside the technological imperative of medicine. Many industrialized nations have introduced legislation on advance directives, confirming the validity of...

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Involvement of nurses in physician‐assisted dying

Cited by 52 publications

References 22 publications

Prevalence of Patients With Do-Not-Resuscitate Status on Acute Geriatric Wards in Flanders, Belgium

Prevalence of Patients With Do-Not-Resuscitate Status on Acute Geriatric Wards in Flanders, Belgium

The role of nurses in physician-assisted deaths in Belgium

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