Whats the worst that can happen?

[melonbelly7]

Ive been a nurse for more than 15 years. Im an army vet, volunteer firefighter/emt and have 3 wild small boys of my own. When the chance to work at a summer camp came up this year I thought it was a great idea. well as opening day gets closer, the butterflies start and im questioning everthing I know. I do have a background in adult emergency med and do really well with kids too.

ive comprised a list of what I think ill need for supplies(lists on here have been a great help) ive read all I can on state regulations on a health lodge for a camp. I havnt had any advise from the camp director but will be soon meeting with her and i have a long list of questions.

So here is my question whats the worst that can happen, I dont know anyone that has done this and Im just not sure what to expect. I know ill see incect bites and skinned needs broken bones and poisin ivy. I do know that most of our kids come with a parent or a familiar adult in there groops and that helps me know them and their needs. so tell all good and bad so I can be mentaly ready for all that comes my way camping at a cub scout resident camp for almost 2 months in the summer. thanks

[wearingmanyhats, RN]

If I was the "top" medical person there and felt 911 was warranted, I would NOT hesitate to grab my cell and dial...

[belle87RN]

I was a counselor in a the cabin right next to where one of the worst incidents that I've seen, happened. (I worked 3 summers at that camp now). The girls were chasing each other around and the one girl ran toward the door which had glass windows. Her hand and arm when straight through the window. She had several severe cuts to her arm, I think I remember finding out that she ended up with 30 plus staples in her arm! I was extremely grateful that none of my campers ended up with serious injuries.

[James Garrity, BSN, RN]

I think,from my personal experence,that one of the most dangerous things that can happen,althoug rare,is snake bite.

Snake bite on a kid is extreemly bad,they do not have the body mass to absorb the venom(this is true with black widow bites as well)Also,there is the possibility of A.S.,which can kill a kid in mere minuets,I know,it happened to me and fortunatly,I was only up the street from the hospital(less than 10 min.)but was circling the drain when I arived with a BP of 35/60 and respitory distress,all because I had a reaction to a componet in the venom,the bite itself while painful,was not very serious at all,as Cotton Mouth bites go any way.I would have the following at camp:

1. A bite protocol,this will give detailed info to EMT and ER docs as to what to do,meds,poison control and other numbers and they are species specific,You can get one emailed or down loaded from http://www.venomousreptiles.org You will be suprissed how little they know in the ER about snake bite,unless the attending is Dr. Shun Bush.

2.Find out about the species of venomous snakes that will be in the area,get pictures and again,the bite protocols.http://www.venomous reptiles.org.

3.know the latest snake bite first aid,NOT cutting and sucking,NOT the use of ice and constriction bands,see the web site.

4.have an epi-pen on hand,as a nurse,you know what to do with that.O2 wouldnt hurt either to help calm a frightened child

5. know that you DO NOT need to kill the snake for identification,you only risk getting bit again.In north america,if you have symptoms of envenomation,there is one brand of Anti Venom that is being used,Cro Fab,and it covers all noth american pit viper envenomations,the ER should have this,again,this info is in the bite protocols

6.know that snake bites are rare,and deaths from them even more rare,but boys will be boys and even a baby rattle snake can do a world of hurt to an adult,much less a kid

7.remember,"time is tissue" so dont waste time getting the victem to proper,knowlagable(bite protocol) help

Any way,hope you have a wonderful time at camp:D

[belle87RN]

well I did it.. I bravely went were i had never been before draging my 3 children with me and a little tired in the end I made it. The majority of my days were not exciting I did survie the worst weather we ever had in summer in ny. some mornings were actuly 48 degrees. Ive delt with more bug bites and skinned knees, no fractures, no extreme emergencys a few elevated temps and foot blisters. One guy passed out after swim testing but he was ok in the long run just put my check in procedures way behind. thanks to everyone who offered advice and support i will gladly do this again.

What camp did you work at? It sounds like a camp in NY that I go to called Word of Life. But I would imagine you would have seen a few fractures and sprains there given all the activities that they do.

[inkedRN]

I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I think what injuries you see depends on the camp you go to. I work at a action sports camp (Cheer, Gymnastics, Skateboarding, BMX, etc) so I saw some crazy stuff. Skull fractures, dislocated fingers, stitches, lots of broken ankles and arms. Thankfully they have very experienced sports trainers who deal with most of the injuries.

I think the scariest thing is the fact that it takes an ambulance a minimum of 45 minutes to get to the camp. Even Life Flight takes over 20 minutes just to get there.

[Niamah]

Nurses do love sharing these kind of stores, don't we! I worked for few years at a camp that had a large int'l pop (Global Youth Village) -- all teens, some sports but not a huge emphasis on this or adventure related activities, so most of what I saw was pretty minor - bug bites, colds, sore throats, homesickness, mild allergies... BUT there were definitely some wild days as well: ana rxns to bug bites, asthma problems, usually saw a case or two of malaria each summer, an occasional fracture; had one staff person fall while holding a glass - severed his artery in his wrist (ugh); had another staff member get distracted while using a commercial food processor in the kitchen and she cut off the top of one of her fingers... never know what will happen!

[Nur_1996]

I too have many stories of the worst that can happen. the worst that happened for me was at a Special Needs camp, on a adult session- A man had a heart attack and I had to due CPR forever until the volunteer rescue squard came. He lived, so it does have a happy ending. But always expect the unexpected!

[tablefor9, RN]

1. 14yr male seized and resp arrested. And there I was, with my piece of plastic called a barrier device. (Made it.)

2. Fx femur.

3. Adult sprayed lice stuff in a dorm (unsupervised) and coded. (Made it.)

[meluhn]

I did it one summer and the worst was one day a girl went into a severe asthma attack and had to take an ambulance ride to the hospital. The other major injury was a boy who broke his arm playing football or soemthing. Otherwise, lots of sore throats, lots of mini neb tx, headaches from not drinking enough in hot weather, mosquito bites, one ghonorhea of the throat (yup), a small lice epidemic in one bunk, tons of meds to give out, a yeast infection, a growth hormone shot, an infected ingrown toenail and other minor random stuff. We were lucky to have a parent/pediatrician on call at all times in the camp.

[SnowbirdRN]

I've done 3 yrs at an overnight girls camp. Year 1 we had an adult have a Grand Mal (no history of having seizures), A violent camper threatening to hurt others; Yr 2 we had a choking counselor (able to cough it up), Another counselor with some sort of neurological reaction to Benadryl (ambulance- was fine) another counselor with a torn ACL, a homesick non-english speaking camper threaten suicide if we didn't let her go home *dad said, suck it up!* haha.. she was watched and it wasn't a valid threat.; yr 3- A camper who broke her ankle and sprained it in 3 places but didn't complain and was walking around on it all week (Mom was ******). Lots of counselor psych issues.. anxiety/panic attacks and bulimia, confirmed h1n1, a dumb counselor who jumped off a ledge and badly sprained her ankle (i thought it was broken actually), two other camper ankle sprains requiring xrays, a 15yr old girl fainted a few times and on the last one in the middle of the night she broke her arm when she fell in the bathroom BY HERSELF (?!?!) 1 confirmed Lice and many other scares. Now that I think of it, the worst stuff happened to the staff...

yr4... we'll see..