Constructing Good Nursing Practice for Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: An Interpretive Descriptive Study

Abstract

Nurses play a central role in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada. However, we know little about nurses’ experiences with this new end-of-life option. The purpose of this study was to explore how nurses construct good nursing practice in the context of MAiD. This was a qualitative interview study using Interpretive Description. Fifty-nine nurses participated in semi-structured telephone interviews. Data were analyzed inductively. The findings illustrated the ways in which nurses constructed artful practice to humanize what was otherwise a medicalized event. Registered nurses and nurse practitioners described creating a person-centered MAiD process that included establishing relationship, planning meticulously, orchestrating the MAiD death, and supporting the family. Nurses in this study illustrated how a nursing gaze focused on relationality crosses the moral divides that characterize MAiD. These findings provide an in-depth look at what constitutes good nursing practice in MAiD that can support the development of best practices.