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Description
Medical-assistance in dying (MAID) is a process in which a physician prescribes lethal medications that the consenting patient will self-administer with the intention of ending their life. By April 2024, medical-assistance in dying was legal in 10 states as well as the District of Columbia (“Death with Dignity,” 2024). With an evolving legal landscape around MAID, healthcare professional training on this procedure is often overlooked and inadequate (Winters et al., 2022). This is especially true for ICU nurses who manage critical and often end of life cases. This lack of education leaves nurses underprepared for the legal, ethical, and emotional challenges involved. Nurses play a key role in medical-assistance in dying from facilitating end-of-life conversations to being a patient advocate. Nurses should be knowledgeable about medical-assistance in dying in order to encompass all end-of-life care options for their patients.
Department
Nursing
Publication Date
2024
Sponsorship/Conference/Institution
Dominican University of California
City
San Rafael, CA
Keywords
medical assistance in dying, training and education, knowledge, medical aid in dying
Disciplines
Critical Care Nursing | Nursing | Palliative Nursing