Canadian MAiD Curriculum Project Summary
Welcome to the Canadian MAiD Curriculum (CMC) Project, a multi-year Health Canada funded project led by the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers (CAMAP) to develop, produce and deliver a nationally recognized, bilingual, fully accredited MAiD training curriculum – a series of eight topics – to address the spectrum of needs of all clinicians who assess and provide MAiD in Canada.
Prior to the launch of the Curriculum, there was a lack of established, bilingual, standardized curriculum for MAiD education in any undergraduate or post-graduate medical school or nurse practitioner training program anywhere in Canada. Some medical and nursing training programs provide general education about MAiD, but none teach the details of MAiD care, which is left for practicing clinicians to seek out on their own once they are in practice. In addition, the legislative framework underpinning MAiD permits nurse practitioners, family physicians and specialists to assist patients that request MAiD, yet our fundamental training and ongoing professional development occur in distinct professional silos.
The aim of this project is to help standardize an approach to care across the country, to ensure access to high-quality MAiD training for interested healthcare practitioners, to advance the skills of existing MAiD practitioners, and to educate new MAiD practitioners.
The Canadian MAiD Curriculum includes eight topics developed by a number of interdisciplinary working groups made up of subject-matter experts representing diverse geographies and disciplines. Each topic underwent a comprehensive and rigorous stakeholder review process and was piloted in English and French to clinicians across Canada. Stakeholders include MAiD clinicians, medical and nursing organizations, medical and nursing protective associations, persons with lived experience, and Indigenous groups. This feedback was analyzed and incorporated into the development of each topic.
The curriculum includes independent online self-study components and facilitated sessions delivered either online or in person. The curriculum is available in French and English.
A rigorous implementation and research-focused evaluation process involving various end-user groups was undertaken to develop the Canadian MAiD Curriculum. 8 Working Groups, including over 50 subject-matter experts from all across Canada, carefully curated the content of the CMC. Topic modules were designed and developed by the Office of Professional Development and Educational Scholarship (OPDES) at Queen’s University. All module content in this curriculum underwent a rigorous stakeholder review process conducted by the Canadian MAiD Curriculum leadership committee, the CAMAP Provincial-Territorial Advisory Council, the National Steering Committee, and the CAMAP Board of Directors. All topics were pilot-tested and evaluated with English and French clinicians across Canada and a group of persons with lived MAiD experience.
The curriculum is accredited by Canada’s national medical and nursing colleges: the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). The CMC works with a CAMAP Provincial-Territorial Advisory Council to ensure a national lens has been provided and relevant jurisdictional resources provided.
The Canadian MAiD Curriculum Project work is overseen by an Executive Committee composed of diverse MAiD subject-matter experts. This Committee reports to the CAMAP Board and is advised by a National Steering Committee composed of national MAiD stakeholders to help ensure the viewpoints of their organizations are considered and that equity and diversity are upheld.
To learn more about the various topics covered in the CMC, click here.