Dr. Dennis Demedts, RN, PhD, is a Belgian lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in Public Health Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he is also a member of the Mental Health and Wellbeing research group and the Research Centre for Digital Medicine. He obtained a bachelor’s and a Master of Science in Nursing, and a PhD in Social Health Sciences, with a dissertation on nursing students’ attitudes, future role, knowledge, and skills regarding euthanasia due to unbearable mental suffering. His work focuses on mental health, end-of-life care and medical assistance in dying, with specific expertise in euthanasia due to unbearable mental suffering, simulation-based education, and the preparation of healthcare students and professionals for ethically complex care situations. He has published extensively on euthanasia due to unbearable mental suffering, including studies on the attitudes, roles and competences of nurses, nursing students, general practitioners, and clinical psychologists, as well as on the use of simulation to teach health professions students to handle euthanasia-related requests and conversations. He has presented his work on euthanasia at numerous national and international conferences and professional events, including International Council of Nurses. He is an honorary member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, chapter Rho Chi at Large, a member of the European Association for Palliative Care, and a board member of the Right to Die Societies Europe.
