Fabián Chirigliano is a lifeguard with almost 30 years of experience on beaches in Uruguay and in recent years in Spain. He has also worked as a Bachelor of Nursing in various Hospitals and Health Centers, and has developed teaching work in First Aid and Aquatic Rescue in multiple institutions.
Throughout his vast experience he has experienced all kinds of situations, from the most dramatic to the most surprising, which he narrates in his book "De Agua y Arena. Relatos de un Guardavidas 2014" Author Edition.
In 2020, Mr. Chirigliano is pursuing a Master's Degree in Coaching, Emotional Intelligence and NLP, and confirms through various studies how Emotional Intelligence affects the development and exercise of the profession.
Although this book is based on a thesis project, it has several purposes for which it is considered a valuable contribution for the aquatic rescue professional, which could well be extrapolated to other emergency intervention professionals such as: Doctors, Nurses, T.E.S , Firefighters, Civil Guards, Civil Protection, among many others.
Through an exhaustive bibliographical investigation, the importance of Emotional Intelligence is described and how it can positively or negatively affect the results.
Theoretical bases are established about the competencies required for an Aquatic Lifeguard, where not only the specific skills and abilities of the profession and the related theoretical knowledge are very important requirements, but also the competence in Emotional Intelligence turns out to be key for the individual and team success, in group and service management.
And finally, the author makes an analysis and conclusions about the reality of First Aid in Spain in matters related to training, selection criteria by companies, working conditions and other factors that converge in a difficult reality related to drowning due to submersion, reflected by morbidity and mortality rates, which do not decrease over the years and have much to do with the factors described above. Faced with this worrying reality, the author makes a series of innovative proposals based on tests, training courses and interviews with companies to carry out a diagnosis linked to the criteria for selecting Lifeguard personnel.
Although those of us who know the reality of Aquatic Lifeguarding in Spain already have an answer to the raised Hypotheses and research questions, and aware that many of these concepts are not for these times, it is the author's wish that work begin on the development of emotional intelligence in Aquatic Lifeguards, from companies, recruiters and political authorities.
Their incentive, added to better technical training and improvements in working conditions, is the path towards Professionalization and will therefore have an impact on better care for bathers.