gms | German Medical Science

Background and Purpose: In the regulated euthanasia practice in the Netherlands, Nursing Care as a profession hardly plays any official role because euthanasia is seen as sole responsibility of the physicians.

Methods: The aim of this research is the description of the duties of nurses in the process of euthanasia. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with 23 Dutch nursing staff from different workplaces and experts. The format chosen for the interviews was based on the concept of the problem-centered interview by Witzel [1], [2]. Interviews were done in Dutch. Data analysis was performed using an interpretive-reductive process, namely the structuring content analysis by Mayring [3].

Results: Patients frequently make their first euthanasia request to nurses and will be asked in detail by nursing staff to assess the unambiguousness of their request. In the decision-making process nurses have many conversations with patients to learn the reasons for their euthanasia request. In the preparatory phase nurses have frequent and intensive discussions with the patient about euthanasia itself and her or his wishes in this respect. Application of a venous access and preparation of euthanatica is often done by nurses – because of their skills. After performing euthanasia taking care of the corps and of the patient’s family are important tasks of nurses.

Conclusions: Nurses act as information mediators, supporters, advocates and supervise the process. In order to fulfill these different roles nurses require sophisticated professional, ethical and personal skills. Likewise, organizational ethical issues are a prerequisite for good nursing care of people receiving euthanasia.