OREGON EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS ATTITUDES TOWARD PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE

Objectives: To determine Oregon intermediate and advanced emergency me dical technicians' (EMTs') attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and factors associated with those attitudes. Methods: An anonym ous survey was sent to a random sample of 498 EMTs registered in Orego n. Results: Surveys were delivered to 498 EMTs and 343 completed surve ys were returned, for a response rate of 69%. The mean age of the resp ondents was 37.5 years (+/-8.73) and 79% were male. 232 (68%) agreed t hat PAS should be legal, 263 (77%) agreed that terminally ill people h ave a right to decide to commit suicide, while 57 (17%) thought not at tempting resuscitation would be immoral. 251 (73%) reported seeing att empted suicide in terminally ill patients at least once, with 117 (34% ) experiencing such calls > 5 times. Only 22 (6%) stated that they wou ld be unable to work in a system that directed them to withhold resusc itation after a PAS attempt, and 277 (81%) agreed that treatment proto cols should direct EMTs to withhold resuscitation. 105 (31%) thought E MTs should participate in the decision to withhold resuscitation. 206 (60%) thought the law should allow lethal injection for terminally ill patients. 201 (59%) agreed there were circumstances under which they might personally consider PAS. If PAS were legal, EMTs stated they wou ld withhold treatment from a terminally ill patient following attempte d suicide in the following circumstances: based on standing orders, 78 %; with on-line medical direction, 67%; after speaking with the primar y physician, 53%; if the patient had decision-making capacity, 45%; wi th written documentation from the patient's physician, 68%; and never, 6%. Conclusions: A majority of Oregon EMTs responding to this survey expressed support for PAS, think treatment protocols should direct par amedics to withhold resuscitation in such cases, and would feel comfor table withholding resuscitation given appropriate protocols. Nearly 3 out of 4 Oregon EMTs report seeing at least 1 terminally ill patient w ho had attempted suicide.