Attitudes of nursing students on euthanasia

U prošlosti, eutanazija je označavala blagu smrt, pomoć koju je liječnik pružao umirućem bolesniku kako bi mu ublažio bolove i patnju. U njezinom punom smislu, eutanaziju možemo definirati kao ubijanje onih koji su nemoćni, neizlječivo bolesni, u teškim, neizdrživim bolovima kako bih se njih same poštedjelo daljnje boli i patnje. Prema definiciji koju donosi Deklaracija o Eutanaziji Kongregacije za nauk vjere, eutanazija je neko djelo ili propust koji po svojoj prirodi i nakani izaziva smrt, u cilju otklona svake boli. U Republici Hrvatskoj, eutanazija se smatra kaznenim djelom, dok u Nizozemskoj, dobrovoljnu eutanaziju liječnici obavljaju dulje od dvadeset godina. Kao alternativa za eutanaziju, u Velikoj Britaniji uvedeni su hospiciji unutar kojih se provodi palijativna skrb. Osnovna vještina u palijativnoj skrbi je kontrola simptoma jer bez olakšanja boli i drugih fizičkih i emocionalnih smetnji teško da se što može postići. Pod palijativnom skrbi podrazumijevamo timski i holistički pristup. Svaka je osoba jedinka za sebe te su tako i simptomi više nego ono što se može jednostavno odrediti njihovim fizičkim čimbenicima. Također, važni segmenti palijativne skrbi su interdisciplinaran rad tima i komunikacija članova tima sa neizlječivim bolesnicima i članovima njihovih obitelji. Interdisciplinaran rad tima čine liječnici, medicinske sestre, psiholozi, fizioterapeuti, socijalni radnici, svećenici i volonteri. Najznačajniju ulogu u skrbi za umirućeg bolesnika ima medicinska sestra. Medicinska sestra izravno skrbi za umirućeg bolesnika, promatra bolesnikovu reakciju na skrb, pruža psihološku potporu i daje podršku obitelji tijekom bolesti i žalovanja. Cilj je ovog istraživanja bio odgovoriti na pitanja u kojoj su mjeri studenti i studentice studija sestrinstva upoznati sa pojmom eutanazije te kakav je njihov stav o eutanaziji, smrti i umiranju. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 118 studenata. Anonimnom online anketom obuhvaćeni su osnovni podaci o ispitanicima (spol, dob, godina studija, radni status). Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju na to da su stavovi studenata o eutanaziji i njezinoj legalizaciji vrlo podijeljeni. Razlog tome je jer polovica studenata pripada dobnoj skupini od 18 do 22 godine, odnosno mlade osobe nemaju jasne stavove, a pogotovo ako se tiče ovako diskutabilne teme kao što je eutanazija.In the past, euthanasia was a mild death, the help the doctor provided to the dying patient to relieve him of pain and suffering. In it is fullest sense, euthanasia can be defined as the killing of those who are powerless, incurably sick, in painful, unbearable pain, to spare themselves or further pain and suffering. According to the definition given by the Declaration on Euthanasia of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, euthanasia is an act or omission that causes death by it is nature or purpose, in order to remove any pain. In the Republic of Croatia, euthanasia is considered a criminal offense, while in the Netherlands volunteer euthanasia is performed by doctors for more than twenty years. As an alternative to euthanasia, hospice within which palliative care is being implemented has been introduced in Great Britain. The basic skill in palliative care is to control the symptoms because without pain relief and other physical and emotional disturbances it is difficult to achieve. Under palliative care we imply a team and holistic approach. Everyone is a person for himself and so are the symptoms more than what can be simply determined by their physical factors. Also, important palliative care segments are the interdisciplinary teamwork and communication of team members with inexhaustible patients and members of their families. The interdisciplinary work of the team consists of doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers, priests and volunteers. The most important role in the care of dying patient is a nurse. The nurse directly cares for a dying patient, looks at the patient's response to care, provides psychological support and supports family during illness and apprehension. The aim of this study was to answer questions to the extent that students of nursing studies are familiar with the notion of euthanasia and what their attitude to euthanasia, death and dying is. The study was conducted on a sample of 118 students. The anonymous online survey includes basic data on respondents (sex, age, years of study, work status). The obtained results indicate that the attitudes of students on euthanasia and it is legalization are very divided. This is because half of the students belong to the age group of 18 to 22 years, young people have no clear attitudes, especially when it comes to such debating topics as euthanasia