This heart-centered, non-medical training is for doulas, companions, caregivers, volunteers, family support people, and end-of-life professionals who want to offer steady, compassionate assisted dying support.
When someone is preparing for an assisted death, there can be practical questions, strong emotions, differing beliefs, and a wish to make the time remaining meaningful. Families may need someone who can listen, help them prepare, and stay alongside them with care.
A doula offers non-medical support that keeps the person’s wishes, values, and voice at the center. This may include thoughtful conversations, family preparation, a comforting environment, legacy work, personal rituals, and care after the death.
This training brings those skills together with clear boundaries and respectful collaboration with the clinical team, so you can offer support without directing decisions or imposing your own beliefs.
You may be an end-of-life doula, hospice companion, volunteer, caregiver, chaplain, counselor, or someone who wants to understand how to support a person and family through an assisted dying pathway.
Whether this is part of the care you already offer or a new area of learning, you are welcome here. The program is designed for learners in different communities and introduces the terminology used across jurisdictions, including MAiD, AID, VAD, PAD, and VSED.
No previous IEOLCA training or clinical background is required. This is a standalone program. Our Certified End-of-Life Doula program is also available for those interested in broader end-of-life learning.
“This course has given me a new sense of purpose and direction in my life and career. I feel more confident, and I am grateful for the opportunity.”
Learn how to offer steady, compassionate support before, during, and after an assisted death, while honoring the person’s choices and remaining within a non-medical role.
Listen without judgment, follow the person’s language, and support conversations about wishes, values, and uncertainty.
Make room for different beliefs, help families prepare, and support meaningful conversations without directing decisions.
Explore personal ways to bring comfort, connection, and meaning to the time before death and to the farewell itself.
Develop a grounded approach to bedside support, immediate rituals, early grief, and gentle follow-up.
Understand boundaries, cultural humility, and the roles of clinical and other professionals across different care settings.
People bring different beliefs, cultures, relationships, and experiences to end-of-life choices. This learning invites you to meet each person with curiosity and care, following the Platinum Rule: treat others as they wish to be treated.
Across the program, you will explore compassionate communication, preparation, family support, ritual, and aftercare. Clinical eligibility, medication, and legal questions remain with the appropriate professionals, while your role centers on the person and the people who love them.
“Completing this training has been an incredibly meaningful experience. The program gave me practical tools, guidance on boundaries, and a deeper understanding of supporting people with compassion during one of life's most sacred times.”
Move from foundations and ethics into family preparation, day-of presence, aftercare, and professional practice. The learning brings together practical knowledge, reflection, and case studies.
You will explore the language and context of MAiD, AID, VAD, PAD, and VSED, alongside tools for conversations, planning, rituals, and support. Study online at a pace that fits your life, with lifetime access to revisit the material.
Complete the program requirements to receive your IEOLCA Certificate of Completion and digital training badge.
The history of medical aid in dying worldwide, why people choose this path, the Platinum Rule, global terminology: Medical Assistance/Aid in Dying (MAiD), Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD), Physician-Assisted Dying (PAD), Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED), legal landscape overview, scope and boundaries, trauma-informed care foundations, and a doula readiness self-assessment.
Holding space without judgment, neutral and compassionate language, cultural deep-dives including Indigenous, East Asian, and Black community perspectives, conscientious objection, the disability justice lens, and supporting choice without advocacy.
Legal and procedural context (Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Europe), VSED as a distinct pathway, the assessor-practitioner-doula relationship, when access is denied, and scope-safe navigation of the clinical process.
Emotional and practical preparation, holding ambivalence without steering, legacy wishes and meaning-making, facilitating family meetings, the tealight countdown ritual, environment design, supporting clients facing access barriers, and children's involvement.
Grounded presence and calming practices, what to expect and how to prepare families, bedside language, holding diverse spiritual and cultural perspectives in the room, when complications arise, when a client changes their mind, and scope-conscious boundaries throughout.
Immediate rituals and closing practices, early grief support, VSED-specific aftercare, disenfranchised grief, supporting those who opposed the death, structured debrief protocols, referral pathways, and doula integration after a death.
Building trust with healthcare teams, handling conflict with clinical staff, documentation within scope, intake and contracts for MAiD and dying with dignity work, sensitive marketing, privacy and media, community education, and building a sustainable referral network.
Detailed case studies covering a full range of scenarios, Platinum Rule application in complex situations, personal scope statement development, practitioner wellness, and a final integration project with three options suited to different learning styles.
Conversation guides, planning tools, and reflective resources to support your learning and the care you offer.
“I was deeply surprised at the depth and breadth of information shared, and that it was presented as an interactive experience requiring thought and introspection.”
When you complete the program, you’ll receive recognition of your learning, a shareable digital badge, and the opportunity to be listed in the IEOLCA Doula Directory.
Receive an IEOLCA Certificate of Completion recognizing successful completion of the Medical Aid in Dying Support Doula Program. Yours to display, frame, and share with confidence.
A shareable IEOLCA digital badge recognizing completion of the program, for your email signature, website, LinkedIn profile, and social media.
Upon completion, you are invited to add your profile to the IEOLCA Doula Directory, helping families find trained, compassionate doulas who offer this kind of support.
“IEOLCA is flawless. A lot of chaplains would benefit from this training. I am so thankful that I picked this particular course.”
Everything here is designed to help you quickly understand whether this training is right for you and what to expect.
Who this learning is for and how to begin.
Yes. The Medical Aid in Dying Support Doula Program is available online and self-paced. Students may enroll and begin the training right away.
Clinical or medical experience is not required. The training is suited to end-of-life doulas, helping professionals, and anyone who wants to support those choosing medical aid in dying or dying with dignity within a clearly defined scope.
Yes. This is a standalone training program. You do not need to complete IEOLCA’s Certified End-of-Life Doula program first, and no clinical or medical background is required.
The curriculum, terminology, and the non-medical doula role.
Yes. The program explores medical assistance in dying (MAiD), medical aid in dying, assisted dying, voluntary assisted dying (VAD), AID, PAD, and VSED. It helps students recognize different terminology while keeping the doula role centered on non-medical support, communication, preparation, presence, and aftercare.
Terminology varies by jurisdiction. This training introduces the language students may encounter, including medical assistance in dying (MAiD), medical aid in dying, aid in dying, assisted dying, and voluntary assisted dying (VAD), so you can understand the terms used in your own community while remaining clear about the non-medical doula role.
The doula role remains non-medical and non-legal. Clinical eligibility, legal interpretation, medication handling, and clinical decision-making remain with the appropriate licensed professionals. This program focuses on presence, communication, environment, ritual, family support, and aftercare.
Absolutely. The curriculum is written to be adaptable across jurisdictions and introduces multiple terms and frameworks, including MAiD, medical aid in dying, assisted dying, AID, VAD, PAD, and VSED. The focus remains on transferable, non-medical support skills and clear scope.
General end-of-life doula training prepares you for the full spectrum of dying support. This training program goes deep into the specific emotional, relational, ethical, and practical dimensions of medical aid in dying and dying with dignity - including the unique dynamics of a known death date, the tealight countdown, family conflict around the choice, day-of support, and the complex grief that can follow a chosen death.
Flexible access, tuition choices, and recognition of your learning.
Yes. The training is designed for flexible online learning so you can move through the material in a way that fits your work, caregiving, and other responsibilities. There is no fixed schedule or deadline.
Regular tuition is $249 USD. A 50% tuition support option is available at $124.50 USD for students who need additional financial support. Enrollment gives students access to the training right away.
Upon successful completion, students receive an official IEOLCA Certificate of Completion for the Medical Aid in Dying Support Doula Program, recognizing non-medical training in supporting MAiD, dying with dignity, and related pathways.
Whether you are extending the care you already offer or exploring this path, develop practical skills for being alongside people and families before, during, and after an assisted death.
We want this training to be accessible to anyone feeling called to this path. Choose the tuition level that fits your circumstances; every level includes the same complete program.
“An incredible resource for those seeking a thorough curriculum. The combination of videos and written materials provides an in-depth overview of compassion, listening, and person-centered care. It is a gift to the community.”
