Students’ reasoning behind their decision for or against assisting the patient’s suicide and the frequency of their occurrence at each survey point
| Reasoning behind the decision to assist suicide | Before year 1 | After year 1 | After year 3 | After year 5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning used in answers considered to be professional consensus based | |||||
| Patient’s wishes | 22 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 52 |
| Patient’s and families’ wishes | 7 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 30 |
| Families’ wishes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Patient’s autonomy | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Patient is competent | 1 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 35 |
| Patient is able to provide informed consent | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| Quality of life | 14 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 32 |
| No hope of recovery/can’t live without assistance/let nature take its course | 11 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 32 |
| Important to have the decision legally sanctioned | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Withdrawal of treatment is not euthanasia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Let her die with dignity | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Reasoning used in answers considered not to be professionally consensus based | |||||
| To prevent her suffering | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| She’s better off dead | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| She can’t recover | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| If it were me | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| In this situation euthanasia is justified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal, but court will legalise it | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Let the court decide | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pass it onto another doctor to decide | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| For the greater good | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Reasoning behind the decision not to assist patient’s request to withdraw treatment | |||||
| Doctor’s duty to preserve life/respect for life | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Religious belief | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Personal belief | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Illegal to assist patient | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Can relieve suffering without ending life | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| She may change her mind | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| In case family turn against you | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Need more time to make decision | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |