You are a nursing student. Like many of the students in your nursing program, sometimes you feel that you study too much and, therefore, miss out on partying with friends, something many of your college friends do on a regular basis. Today, after a particularly grueling examination, three of your nursing school peers approach you and ask you to go out with them to a party tonight, off campus, which is being cohosted by Matt, another nursing student. Alcohol will be readily available, although not everyone at the party is of legal drinking age, including you and me of your nursing peers (Jenny). Because you really do not want to drink anyway, you agree to be the designated driver.
Almost immediately after you arrive at the party, all three of your nursing peers begin drinking. At first, it seems pretty harmless, but after several hours, you decide the tenor of the party is changing and becoming less controlled and that it is time to take your friends home. Two of your peers agree, but you cannot find Jenny. As you begin searching for her, several partygoers tell you that she has been drinking all night and that she “looked pretty wasted” the last time they saw her. They suggest that you check the bathroom because Jenny said she was not feeling very well.
When you enter the bathroom, you see Jenny slumped in the corner by the toilet. She has vomited all over the floor as well as her clothing, and she reeks of alcohol. When you attempt to rouse her, her eyelids flutter, but she is unable to wake up or answer any questions. Her breathing seems regular and unlabored, but she is continuing to vomit in her “blacked-out” state. Her skin feels somewhat clammy, and she cannot stand or walk on her own. You are not sure how much Jenny actually had to drink or how long it has been since she “passed out.”
You are worried that Jenny is experiencing acute alcohol poisoning but are not very experienced with this sort of thing. The other two nursing students you brought to the party feel that you are overreacting, although they agree that Jenny has had too much to drink and needs to be watched. One of your peers suggests calling an older classmate in the nursing program, who offered just the other day to provide rides to students who have been drinking. You think she might be able to provide some guidance. Another one tells you that she feels Jenny just needs to “sleep it off” and that she will stay with Jenny tonight to make sure she is OK, although she has had a fair amount to drink herself.
You think Jenny should be seen in the local emergency department (ED) for treatment and are contemplating calling for an ambulance. One partygoer agrees with you that Jenny should be seen at the hospital but suggests that you drop Jenny off anonymously at the front door of the ED so you won’t get in any trouble.” Matt encourages you not to take her to the ED at all because he is afraid the incident will be reported to the local police because Jenny is a minor and that he could be in “real trouble” for furnishing alcohol to a minor. He argues that this could threaten both his progression and Jenny’s in the nursing program. He says that she can just stay at the house tonight and that he will check on her on a regular basis.
To complicate things, you, Jenny, and the other two students you brought to the party live in the college dormitories, and they lock down for the evening in another 30 minutes. It will take you at least 20 minutes to gather the manpower you need to get Jenny down to your car and up to her dormitory room by lockdown if that is what you decide to do. If you are not inside the dormitories by lockdown, you will need to find another place to spend the evening. In addition, there will likely be someone at the door to the dormitory assigned to turn away students who are clearly intoxicated.
Decide what you will do. How do you best advocate for a peer when they are unable to advocate for themselves? Does it matter if the risk is self-induced? How do you weigh the benefits of advocating for one person when it can result in potential harm or risk to another person? Must have 1 scholarly resource and use the text book as reference.
