Adult ICU --> camp nurse?

[apaisRN]

I've been an RN for three years, two in adult medical/cardiac ICU. I got my CCRN in adult critical care last fall. I've been accepted to CRNA school (YAY!) and am thinking I'd love to be a camp nurse this summer, as a final staff job and a less stressful job than ICU nursing. I loved camp as a kid and wanted to be a camp nurse since nursing school.

I'm not, obviously, a peds nurse. I have CPR and PALS, and I'd certainly brush up on the kiddo stuff. I feel confident that I know the big things, just by being a nurse and being interested in all aspects of nursing, but am I overconfident? I feel like if I'm going to be a CRNA I can certainly be a camp nurse, but they are totally different fields. What do the experienced camp nurses think? Does ICU expertise cancel out pediatric inexperience?

[BonnieSc]

Most summer camps have some international counselors. I love having them, and they present some interesting challenges. For one thing, when they first arrive, a lot of them have GI upset due to the different foods. If their cuisine at home is VERY different from American food, they may not eat enough during the summer and get fatigued. And if they like it too much, a lot of them end up gaining weight...

Another issue is their medications. Many of our American standards, like acetaminophen, are sold in other countries under names we've never heard of. And these young people usually don't know the word "acetaminophen", even if they are native English speakers. So it's a challenge to help them figure out what they want to take. (New Zealanders take "paracetamol", not tylenol!)

We are also starting to see more counselors from developing countries. They may have complicated health histories--though like the American counselors, they have to pass a physical.

And even though most of these counselors have excellent English skills, their language classes may not have covered health vocabulary. You can imagine what ensued when a Thai counselor tried to explain to me that she had diarrhea!

[marylyric]

I am with the others here...oh brother was I pooped! LOL! But I had a really large ratio of the ol BS complaints simply because I was actually an Outdoor school camp nurse (week course as part of school...so basically school! LOL!). Oh boy I had every complaint under the sun on rain days when the kids didn't want to be outside doing their studies..LOL! It was like "hey lets fake being sick and go to Triage's office...she is better then being out here!"...oh boy!

But I absolutey loved it once I got use to it..and that did take some time and dedication and LOTS of time managment LOL! I had ranges of patients stemming from nosebleeds (common!), head aches (very common), stomach aches (too too common), to full blown emergencies like asthma attacks (hospitalized almost tubed!), broken bones from falls, febrile seizures r/t infections, and I am the one nurse in my states outdoor school program that actually had a code save! (kitchen worker...so an adult).

The autonomy can't be beat! I loved it!!!!! I didn't have a DON breathing down my neck, was able to make my own clinical judgment (wow, I have forgotten I actually have that since I have to go by strict protocols at my job now), and people actually respected and told me...TOLD ME...I was valuable! And those hugs at the last day...oh those are the biggest joy and thank you a person can get! Made the stress melt right off my shoulders! :).

Sadly I had to do 5/7 days 3 hours away and my family at home was suffering for it, so I had to quit. I still long for the days...and don't discredit me ever going back one day!

Okay and what were my skills? Paramedic wanna be turned nurse, 1 year out of school with a 9 month stent in med/surge that went very wrong, ADN, and no real experience with peds! I did great because I was loving it...and learned fast...I really think you will do just peachy once you get use to your day in camp and get your routine down :)!

Best experience in nursing I have ever had, so very glad I did it!!!!!!!!

Hello Triage nurse. You sound an awful lot like me. I am 6mos out of nursing school and I work 6mos med-surg. I am now doing flu clinics for an agency part-time, I hate med-surg but need the experience. I love the flu clinics and the independence that I have with no one breathing down my throat and the fact that I am not killing my body is another great aspect of flu clinics.

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

I too, find it fascinating to be camping with the international counselors. Many from England, at my camp. My 5 yr old just couldn't get enough of their accents!! I noticed that they are really freaked out by bug bites- we had a lot this year. They said they really don't get a lot of bug bites there.

[BonnieSc]

How was your summer? Haven't heard much from anyone about last season!

I was at a Girl Scout camp--happily, not much happened. A couple of sprained ankles, and a couple of psych emergencies/incidents. I've definitely been lucky in my three years there.

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

I was at a Girl Scout camp--happily, not much happened. A couple of sprained ankles, and a couple of psych emergencies/incidents. I've definitely been lucky in my three years there.

I was at a girl scout camp too. Only for a week. Absolutely boring compared to last year- a lot less volume, and a lot less kids on routine meds. There were about 50 fewer girls this year, and not as many complainers. We did have a lice scare, and a pink eye that had to go home. And one known asthmatic who ended up with a whopping sinus infection- spent more time in my office than at activities.:chuckle All in all not bad, my daughter had fun, so it was worth it.