Aged Care Insite Issue 110 Dec-Jan 2019 | Page 34

workforce Voluntary assisted dying: the nurse’s role As voluntary assisted dying becomes law in Victoria, nurses need to understand their role. Jenny Newton interviewed by Megan Tran V ictoria will see voluntary assisted dying become law in June next year, but nurses are still working through what the change in legislation will mean for them. At a recent event at Monash Medical Centre, the Australian College of Nursing (ACN) walked nurses through the legal context of voluntary assisted dying within the Victorian healthcare system, and explored the potential implications and related ethical issues concerning the role of nurses. 32 agedcareinsite.com.au In an interview with Aged Care Insite, Adjunct Associate Professor Jenny Newton talked about the themes discussed at the event and ethical debates that surround the issue. ACI: What did the ACN event aim to achieve? JN: The event aimed to raise nurses’ awareness of the fact that the voluntary assisted dying legislation comes into Act in June next year, so that’s actually not that far away. I’m very mindful as a nurse that I particularly wasn’t that familiar with the nuances of the legislation and how it might impact on my role as a nurse. So the event was really to raise that awareness, that nurses needed to start thinking about what might be some of the implications for themselves in their everyday practice. What ethical debates arise when we talk about voluntary assisted dying? One of the key ethical issues is when you have a conscientious objection to voluntary assisted dying and yet you might have a patient or client ask you about their rights under voluntary assisted