Camp Nurses - Please Introduce Yourself Here.

I have been a camp nurse for 5 years and love camp nursing, the best part is my kids go for free. The camp is in CT, does anyone work in CT

I have been a camp nurse for years, mainly in NC. I just love being outside I don't have kids, but I consider all the campers "mine"!

Hello all. I will be heading to Minnesota this summer to work as a staff nurse at what sounds like an amazing language camp. I worked at camps for a few years during college and have always loved them but not in this capacity and last year I volunteered for a week as a camp nurse to help a friend (the director) out. I'm very nervous and excited. I got my RN license over a year ago and I worked for 6 months in mental health but I decided to take time off and volunteer in Brazil, not as a nurse. I'm finishing up 8 months away from nursing and am a bit anxious about returning. I hope my time at camp will bring back my confidence and give me time to brush up on my skills. After camp I'm going to be tying to get into an ER internship program, I worked as an ER tech and loved it and really want to get back there. I'll be back here looking for some help no doubt, as the summer progresses. Happy tick-less summers!

This is year #3 for remote lake camp for coed Camp Fire Camp. Been an RN for 4 1/2 years with broad range of skill sets. Current job as clinic administrator for a medical free clinic. Per Diem camp jobs in summer.

I love the web site and all the networking with the specialty nursing areas.

Hello,

I have been a camp nurse for four plus years, two years at each camp until this summer. I was at the Skylark summer position, but it was very different from previous experiences. I think that this position would be great for a very new graduate who is content to depend on the decision making of the director of the camp. There is an unusal amount of lifting for a summer camp nurse position: On the first day of camp I was handed about 20 sleeping bags to wash, about 5 32 gallon bags of clothes to wash, and then asked to use a professional size mop to mop the Health Center and this continued to be a large part of the job (that I could have done in my younger years, but I found it much to swing the professional size mop). This said, the kids are wonderful and I loved getting the little notes and cards to thank me for my efforts.

Again, the kids are great and the need for a nurse is real. The camp has previously used EMTs, with a greater dependence upon the director's decisions and this could be a great opportunity for a new nurse graduate. The activities are horse back riding, high ropes, beach activities, and other Girl Scout activities.

Hello to all,

I am about to complete my first year as the only nurse at a Girl Scout summer camp. I'm the only one during my weeks to work, but split the time with another nurse. Our camp averages about 120 campers each week, with a capacity of 180. This is the first year this camp has had RNs for a Health Supervisor position, and we are still working out some issues. While I love the job, I don't think I could do it each week all summer long. I am on 24/hrs a day, no time off, until Fridays at about 4pm, and back on Sunday at 9:30 am. If I've had an unusual amount of night times calls during the week, I'm drained by Friday. So I'm glad to share the time, with another nurse. I will be posting some questions we have about this job to the forums for some help. Glad to meet all of you, and look forward to 'talking' with you.

Hi,

I am new to this site. I will be working as a camp nurse for the first time this summer. I have been a registered nurse for 25 years. My specialties have been in pediatrics, geriatrics and psychiatry. I look forward to talking with many of you and to get some advice on how to be more effective as a camp nurse. Likewise, I hope to assist anyone in need.

Is this still an active thread? If so... or if not... Same difference!

I was a camp counselor for a number of years, in a number of states. Loved camp! Worked as a cabin counselor, then a swim instructor/guard. Grew up, had kids, quit camp stuff, d/t real life.

Now that my kids are a little older, I decided to get back into it. I've got a Natural Resources degree, so the outdoor world is very comfortable to me. First I was told, the nurse needed "just first aid." Since I was a student nurse, and had "professional first aid" or whatever it's called, I decided to apply. No, they want a "nurse." So they hired a reluctant LPN. Got through LPN school, they decided they wanted an RN, so they hired a *student RN* who was in her 2nd year, and just happened to be related to the camp director... You'd think I'd learn my lesson!!

This year, they came to me, wanting a nurse, but this summer, I'll be back to school to finish my RN. **sheesh**

Some day, I'll be a camp nurse. Of course, it'll be after my kids have outgrown camp, and my main reason (to keep tabs on them/be around them/their peers) will be over.

Haven't given up my dream of being a camp nurse! I still love camp, and teach different outdoor education classes (tracking, skinning, tanning, hiking) to fill my craving!

Best wishes!

Hi,my name is Cheryl, and I am a registered nurse who loves camp nursing. In Camp off season I work in a pediatric unit of a local community hospital and I teach part time in a college for the BScN program (hoping to get on full time faculty in the fall) It will be my 30th summer working as a camp nurse this year and prior to that I had held other positions at different summer camps (including counsellor, director,and everything inbetween). I work in Ontario, Canada, for my 10th summer at my current camp in the Niagra Region. I have been a member of the Ontario Health Care Committee of the OCA for a number of years (which by the way is a great way to keep involved in current camp trends in your area). In April I will be travelling to Chicago for a camp nurse symposium and hope to learn even more! I am trying to put together a list of what every nurse should pack for camp (not meaning first aid supplies in general), specifically tools of the trade like a good pediatric stethascope. Any ideas of a website or list that I could use that would be user friendly for a brand new camp nurse would be appreciated!
Looking forward to hearing from others soon!

Hi
I have been a camp nurse for 18 yrs now and for the first time in 17 yrs I find myself going to a new camp. I am a little nervous because my old camp had become such a summer home to me. But I am sure it will be fun even if it is different. I will feel like a nomad this summer. Doing a week at my old camp with a diabetes camp, then 2 weeks at one new camp, 4 weeks at another new camp and then 2 weeks back at my old camp with another medical camp. It will be strange not being in one place the whole summer.
Rose in Altoona PA