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Assisted Suicide/Aid in Dying: What Is the Nurse's Role?
Ann B Hamric1, Judith K Schwarz, Lewis Cohen
1Ann B. Hamric is a professor emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Judith K. Schwarz is clinical director at End of Life Choices New York in New York City. Lewis Cohen is a consultation psychiatrist and a professor of psychiatry at Baystate Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate in Springfield. Margaret Mahon is an NP with the Pain and Palliative Care Service at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. Contact author: Ann B. Hamric, abhamric@vcu.edu. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
This policy dialogue discusses aid in dying (AID) legislation and the nursing role in patient assistance. Experts debated arguments for and against AID expansion, offering recommendations for practice.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Healthcare Policy
- Nursing Practice
Background:
- Growing state-level expansion of aid in dying (AID) legislation.
- Increasing patient requests for AID.
- The need to define the nursing role in AID.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present discussions from a policy dialogue on aid in dying.
- To explore arguments for and against AID legislation.
- To examine the role of nurses in assisting patients with AID.
Main Methods:
- Policy dialogue at the American Academy of Nursing annual conference.
- Expert panel discussion.
- Review of arguments and recommendations regarding AID.
Main Results:
- Exploration of multifaceted arguments surrounding AID.
- Identification of key considerations for nurses involved in AID.
- Development of recommendations for policy and practice.
Conclusions:
- Nurses play a critical role in discussions and implementation of AID.
- Further dialogue and policy development are needed regarding AID.
- Ethical and practical implications of AID require careful consideration.