[mamunsey]

Hi! I have never been a camp nurse, I have been asked to be one for the past 2 years at a church camp. Had to decline, it interferred with my families summer vacation. I would be interested in doing this, does anyone have any pointers for me? The age groups will range fron 2nd grade through 18 years old, but on different weeks

[staidansrn]

As I replied to another nurse thinking about Camp nursing,I would highly recommend going to the Association of Camp Nurses, ACN, www.campnurse.org. There are " Tips for Camp Nurses," a subsection of the Camp Nurse Job area. The information will help you in making a plans. I have belonged to ACN for over 10 years. The Association has been of great help providing educational information, first hand feedback of camp experiences and product information review. For me, ACN sets the "gold standard" for setting up and providing health care in a camp setting. The September 2007, "Compass Point," the publication of the ACN, is the meatiest newsletter I have read. It has so many articles of interest. With your school nurse background, you should have a comfortable time. It is very important that you read and agree with the policies, proedures and standing orders for the camp. Consider also signing up with CampRN . It has been providing a " '...forum for resource and information sharing' by nurses pacticing in camp settings,' " for the past ten years. Susan Morse, Vista, CA

[helgej03]

Hey there! I've been a "camp nurse" at a Christian camp in southeast Wisconsin for the past two summers while I was a nursing student. This past summer I was bumped up to "lead nurse." The ages ranged from kindergarten through high school. My advice to you, is to just do it. They were honestly the two best summers. Working with kids is so much fun. The main illnesses/injuries you see at camp are: homesickness, stomach aches (mostly DUE TO homesickness), many scrapes and cuts, homesickness,twisted ankles, allergies/asthma exacerbations, and did I mention homesickness? While there tends to be a lot of down time as a camp nurse, there also tends to be a general rush of kids that come to your office in the evening, usually during chapel if you work at a Christian camp, where you're swamped with tons of kids. It's best to have two people working in the office in the evening because of that. Also, the person below's advice on visiting the ACN website is an excellent one. There's books you can go over on the basics of camp nursing, which I would highly recommend buying. Depending on the camp, you will also be required to create work schedules for the camp nurses and volunteers, be the first responder of an accident/emergency on camp grounds, call 911, take kids and staff members to the clinic, as well as take care of staff members - whose major complaints are usually colds and lack of sleep. If you have any questions, ask some more! I absolutely love camp nursing and it was a great experience. Although, I probably won't return this summer because I graduate and will get a job in a hospital, I do plan on returning.

Originally Posted by mamunsey

Hi! I have never been a camp nurse, I have been asked to be one for the past 2 years at a church camp. Had to decline, it interferred with my families summer vacation. I would be interested in doing this, does anyone have any pointers for me? The age groups will range fron 2nd grade through 18 years old, but on different weeks

[luvschoolnursing]

I volunteer at our local church camp for a couple weeks each summer. I'm the only nurse there because there are only about 60 campers/week. I wouldn't miss it!!! They are the best weeks of my summer. I take my kids with me and they are either campers, helpers or just hang out depending on the age group. Been doing this since they were about 6 & 8, now they are 14 & 16. Hubby stays home and visits us around mid week-he's NOT a happy camper I have been fortunate to have no real emergencies, but if I did, really all I could do was call 911 and manage things till they got there-we have no physician or medical facilities except a first aid type room. Mostly rashes, bug bites, bruises and sprains and with the little ones, homesickness. If you get the opportunity, by all means-go for it.

[Alex'sDad]

If it's your first camp, do it as long as there's another RN with you that "knows the ropes." Once you've had a week or two with a mentor, go for it!

If you like being outdoors and like being around kids, how can you lose?

[nurseinct1000]

Hello mamunsey,
I am interested in camp nursing this summer also. There are a number of sites with information, like campnurse.org and I came across this one site that I like. It had some useful links and and even an epi pen slide show. They have a couple jobs listed already for the New York and PA area. I am thinking of responding to the NY listing. Here is the link to the site. http://www.campnurse.info/camp_jobs.html Good luck

[new2boston]

just be careful!!!!
I am not trying to be discouraging. It just was not a good experience for me. I would never do it again. All the staff were overworked with like no personal time, on-call tons of emergencies.. etc..
so stressful, not much relaxing in the outdoors at all!! at least at my camp.
what they told me in thephone interview was a lie and when i got there everyone found out we were in for a real workload. I think it is great if you have kids and go with them, etc... but to go alone, not so fun.
at least no my experience.

good luck, hope it works out for you though

[nurseinct1000]

Your are right, most people that work at a camp do so to give their kids the camp experience. Usally, camp counslers are single, but I have worked with single nurses and other professionals at camp. Don't get scared away from tring camp nursing, it really is a team effort. If your looking for some good jobs, try this site, they have 16 camp jobs listed.
http://www.campnurse.info/camp_jobs.html

Good luck.