Amusement Park nursing?

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Mar 10, 2011

Personally, I'd like to be a camp nurse at some point but the amusement park thing sounds like a pretty awesome gig too!

I get to be a camp nurse this summer :yeah:

It is where both of my kids have been to camp before, my youngest son is going as a camper and will stay in the cabins, and my older son will stay with me in the nurses station, but still gets to enjoy the camp.

When I registered them for camp, I called them up and asked how they recruited their nurses, because I wanted to go to camp for a week! Once I sent in my refrences and background check they hired me. They didn't ask about ER expereince or say that it was a requirment, but I already had PALS.

Personally I think Disney would be an awesome place to work for

Mrs. Sparkle Pants · Mar 10, 2011

I just imagine this involving a high incidence of vomit. Not exactly my dream job :-) But I say, go for it!

ObtundedRN, BSN, RN · Mar 10, 2011

I'm surprised they use a nurse. I live a few minutes from a large park, and they use EMT-Bs. The person would be sent by ambulance anyway, why have a nurse? Not much extra they could do without a doctor and supplies that an EMT can't, and they're cheaper. When I worked EMS, most of our calls out to this park involved dehydration and/or syncope, with a rare instance of chest pain.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2011

Well, just for an update:

I went an applied to the amusement park. Wanted to find out what they offer someone with my background. As it turns out, they outsource the nursing positions to a local hospital.........but not mine. They keep two nurses on duty at all times, one near the front near the entrance and one much farther back towards the rear of the park. They also have EMTs, but the EMTs are part of the security budget, which is also outsourced lol.

I was considering taking a part time job anyway just for the heck of it. I think it'd be fun to run a ride or something. After the interview though, I don't think so. It pays min. wage :eek: . That part isn't so much a concern to me, its not my primary income but I shudder to think teenagers being payed min. wage run the roller coasters and such.

The idea of working outside in the sun at this place is attractive, but the interviewer kept trying to talk me into being part of the maintenance crew. They do the landscaping (yeah, I used to landscape before I was a nurse) and park decorations. Now, IDK, I recall landscaping being a pretty demanding labor. Not sure I'd really apply myself that way for min. wage (I was making $14 an hour when I left my last landscaping job, and that was 7 years ago).

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2011

I'm surprised they use a nurse. I live a few minutes from a large park, and they use EMT-Bs. The person would be sent by ambulance anyway, why have a nurse? Not much extra they could do without a doctor and supplies that an EMT can't, and they're cheaper. When I worked EMS, most of our calls out to this park involved dehydration and/or syncope, with a rare instance of chest pain.

At this place, they keep two nurses on AND EMTs, with the EMT being a sort of "security" position.

The nurses have two tiny little offices where people can see them. They hand out OTC meds (tylenol, dramamine), have band aids and some glucose tablets, blood sugar testing supplies etc...... If something requires any more attention than they can give, they instruct the person to go to the ER or call the EMT to take them.

The EMTs hang out in the security booth (very large, cabana looking thing) with all the cameras. They help security watch the cameras for incidents and if they witness something they might be needed for......they go. If someone needs taken to the ER, they take them and then return.

Hmmm, yeah, guess you could cut the nurses outta the picture and not really lose much, except for someone dealing with the non-emergency stuff. From what I was told, the guy who is the supervisor of the security and a few of the EMTs that work every year like it this way.......with the EMTs being somewhat like security and someone else looking at the bruises and scrapes on kids.