PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - T De Beer
AU  - C Gastmans
AU  - B Dierckx de Casterlé
TI  - Involvement of nurses in euthanasia: a review of the literature
AID  - 10.1136/jme.2003.004028
DP  - 2004 Oct 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 494--498
VI  - 30
IP  - 5
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/30/5/494.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/30/5/494.full
SO  - J Med Ethics2004 Oct 01; 30
AB  - In ethical debates about euthanasia, the focus is often exclusively on the involvement of physicians and the involvement of nurses is seldom given much attention. Yet nurses occupy a central position in the care of terminal patients, where being confronted with a euthanasia request is an ever present possibility. To assess the involvement of nurses in euthanasia, this article provides an overview of relevant findings from the scientific literature. From this it becomes apparent that nurses are involved in various phases of the euthanasia process: observing the request for euthanasia, decision making, carrying out of euthanasia, and the aftercare for the patient’s family members.