Medical Assistance in Dying: Limits and Conditions

1. Nurse practitioners acting as assessors or assessor-prescribers for medical assistance in dying must:

   a.	possess demonstrated knowledge of and function within the parameters and criteria of the Criminal Code and other legislation, regulations, BCCNM standards, and provincial and organizational policy and procedures related to medical assistance in dying.
   b.	have the competence appropriate to their role, including to:
   	i.	diagnose or confirm the diagnosis of a grievous and irremediable medical condition and, if applicable, the prognosis of reasonably foreseeable death
   	ii.	assess the client against criteria in the Criminal Code related to medical assistance in dying
   	iii.	assess the capacity of the client to consent to medical assistance in dying and determine when it is necessary to refer for further capacity assessment, and
   	iv.	implement the provincial medical assistance in dying substances protocols and manage the intended and unintended outcomes.
   c.	not participate in medical assistance in dying for themselves or a family member.

2. To be eligible to act as an assessor, nurse practitioners must have completed additional education¹ and a preceptorship under the guidance of a qualified practitioner with expertise in medical assistance in dying in order to acquire the needed competencies for eligibility assessment in medical assistance in dying.
3. To be eligible to act as an assessor-prescriber, nurse practitioners must have completed additional education¹ and a preceptorship under the guidance of a qualified medical practitioner or nurse practitioner with expertise in medical assistance in dying in order to acquire the needed competencies for both eligibility assessment and the provision of medical assistance in dying.

Footnotes