Effect of Euthanasia Education on the Views of Nursing Students

BACKGROUND: Nurses play an important role in the healthcare team and are closely involved in the daily care of patients. Sometimes, they are involved in the care of terminal patients, who may thus be confronted with difficult end-of-life decisions such as euthanasia. Therefore, it is important to determine the views on euthanasia of nursing students who will work in health care and prepare them for such situations in their professional life. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of euthanasia education on nursing students' opinions. METHODS: Pretest-posttest single group semi-experimental method was used in the study. Data were obtained with two surveys carried out both before and after education. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, or Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze. RESULTS: Euthanasia education provided students with a different perspective. The results indicated that 56.4% of the students that they knew about euthanasia partially enough before education. After the training, 65.5% of them indicated that they had enough knowledge. Rate of those who are undecided on many questions before education decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Education can significantly change nursing students' approach to euthanasia and provides ethical awareness. Euthanasia and related topics should be added to the curriculum. Students should be encouraged to express their opinions and questions about euthanasia. Students should receive ethics education to prepare them to deal with euthanasia-related issues in their professional lives.