The issue in question comes up at a recent athletic event at a high school. As the athletic activities were going on, a spectator from the stands suffered a cardiac attack. The victim was in dire need of an automatic emergency defibrillator (AED) to stabilize his condition. A coach at the event rushed to the high school to look for the AED. He found that the AED was not available for use at that moment. An emergency squad came to the rescue of the victim. The following Monday morning, I learned that the AED was unavailable since it had been locked in the closet of the custodian at the school. The issue is political since the custodian did not make public facilities available to the victim who needed an AED at the athletic event.
The issue of the custodian not making the AED available for use at the event is part of my problems as a nurse. In the modern world, nursing practitioners are increasingly being involved in the political issues surrounding their work. This is because their education has integrated skills that are supposed to help the nurses identify a problem and solve it in the society (Kung & Rudner Lugo, 2015). For instance, I have a skill in assessment and can dig into the issue and find out the reasons surrounding the absence of the AED (Woodward, Smart & Benavides-Vaello, 2016). Additionally, I understand people with my skills. I can always understand who is involved and who has been affected (Woodward, Smart & Benavides-Vaello, 2016). I am also able to build relationships quite easily with people who have been involved in a problem. Therefore, I can solve this issue (Woodward, Smart & Benavides-Vaello, 2016).
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The issue of the custodian's failure to provide the automatic emergency defibrillator when a cardiac arrest victim at the athletic event required it is a symptom of a more significant problem, which is irresponsibility of the custodians who are in charge of the equipment and facilities for public use. It is an indicator of the increasing irresponsibility of the custodians who have the mandate and keep the facilities that are supposed to be used by the other people who are in need. Nonetheless, if there is a repeat of the same problem, then it will lead to the issue of negligence in the custodianship which may lead to severe medical conditions, for instance for the cardiac attack victims who cannot access the AED or even death.
The issue of the custodian failing to provide the AED in good time requires an immediate solution. From a nursing perspective, the problem becomes political and can quickly affect the populace at large. When the political factors such as situations come into the nursing field, there is usually a magnified possibility of risk and especially with the people's wellbeing and health. The issue thus requires a solution from both the nursing and the education fields. If the problem were to wait, there could be a more severe case of a cardiac arrest in future, and the negligent custodian of the AED does not provide it in good time or not at all. The life of such a victim would be at stake.
The problem of the custodian not providing the AED when it was required at the scenario during the athletic event is not likely to go away by itself. The custodian will soon develop the habit of failing to provide the automatic emergency defibrillator when the students from the high school who are in need of the AED require it. I feel that the custodian needs to be dealt with and if possible have a suit pressed against him. This is because the life of the victim was at stake and he was aware of that. Later on, I learned that the AED was locked away in his closet. That negligence and unwillingness to help are not likely to go away by itself.
Ignoring the problem is not a risk I would consider taking. One of the reasons why I would not want to take that risk is that my professional standards require benevolence and non-maleficence from me. That means that I have to act in a way that is supposed to benefit the patients and cause little or no harm to them. Ignoring the issue will say that I will go against my professional ethics and I may risk losing my job. Secondly, as a nurse, I have the skills of assessment even in the political issues. I can determine who is involved in the scenario, both the perpetrator and the victim, and the extent of the problem. That gives me an opportunity to come up with the assessment of the facts and logically present them to the authorities such as the school, a health care institution, or the police.
One of the solutions is to implement policies in the school that ensure the custodian is always there to help the victims who may require the AED. One of the risks of this solution is that the school will be forced to use up more monetary resources and adequately staff the custodianship to ensure someone is always there in case of an emergency. The other solution will involve the federal government training the custodians on the expectations of the community on them such as the responsibility and availability. The risk involved in this case is the government will spend a lot of money on the change of the education offered to the custodians. This may lead to neglect of the other healthcare concerns that the government would need to address.
The first step I would take towards solving the issue is first to ensure that the victim of the cardiac arrest is stable and had medical attention at the institution he was admitted. Then, I would have a talk with the school authorities regarding the issue to try to come up with the reasons as to why the custodian was not available when he was required. That would enable me to determine whether the custodian had too much on his plate to concentrate on the custodianship or he was just ignorant of the emergency that occurred at the athletics event. Then I will do my homework to have all the information I need before I advocate for the case such as in a court of law.
The issue involves a few stakeholders. Primarily, the nurse and the victim are the key stakeholders. The custodian is the other vital stakeholder in the case. The authorities of the school that the custodian works in are also part of those who need to be involved in the school. That is because the custodian has been hired directly by the school to keep the AED safe and make it available as it is required. The other party to the solution is the law. It is essential for a court of law to be involved to ensure that the custodian is playing the role that is required of him. The federal or the state government will also be included in the solution since they form a basis of the formulation of policies.
The school has various sources of leverage that would be necessary to reach the preferred solution. To begin with, the school has the control over all the employees who are working within its jurisdiction. That involves the AED custodian. The school can come up with new policies to modify the errant behavior of the custodian. The school has the power to create and develop relationships within its environment. The administration can ensure a seamless flow of authority from the executives to the custodian. That will pull him closer and ensure that he does what he is supposed to do as far as the school is concerned.
References
Kung, Y. M., & Rudner Lugo, N. (2015). Political advocacy and practice barriers: A survey of Florida APRNs. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners , 27 (3), 145-151.
Woodward, B., Smart, D., & Benavides-Vaello, S. (2016). Modifiable factors that support Political participation by nurses. Journal of Professional Nursing , 32 (1), 54-61.
