Program

Physician Assistant M.S.

Year Approved

2018

First Advisor

Hanson, Christy

Abstract

An affinity for bioethics lead researchers to investigate the attitudes of physicians toward physician-assisted suicide amidst growing conversation regarding patient liberties. Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) refers to the prescription of a lethal dose of a drug to prematurely end a patient’s life (Gather & Vollmann, 2013). The purpose of this study was to understand the attitudes of physicians toward PAS and thus, predict how their approach to end-of-life issues will change under its legalization. A case-based survey was created to determine the relationship between physician age and support for access to PAS, patient diagnosis and support for access to PAS, physician support for access to PAS and willingness to prescribe PAS, and patient diagnosis and physician willingness to prescribe PAS. The survey was distributed by email to members of the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians and a total of 39 completed surveys were obtained that met inclusion criteria for statistical analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using Real Statistics Software on Microsoft Excel and included chi-squared and Fisher exact tests. A significant relationship was found between physician support for access to PAS and willingness to prescribe the lethal dose, indicating that a significant number of physicians believed patients should have access to PAS, but were not willing to prescribe the lethal dose. The explanation and implications of these results are discussed in Chapter 5.

Degree Name

Masters of Science in Physician Assistant

Document Type

Masterʼs thesis

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