Marching Band Nurse

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Hello, everyone!

As a new graduate of a BSN program with an RN license and EMT-P certification (hopefully) headed my way this summer, I have been invited to serve as my University's Marching Band medical team member for the next season! Believe it or not, this has been a consistent necessity with many band members passing out and/or having medical episodes during the heat of game day.

Does anyone have any experience serving in this capacity, what would a scope of practice look like, and what suggestions do you all have to offer?

Thank you for your time,

Nurse Velasco

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

Well I've been both in the marching band, and as medical standby for everything from rodeos, to the Bolder Boulder, to polo matches, to Burning Man, and once to a horse rescue. I would bone up on heat emergencies and ETOH abuse. You might get strains, spains, blisters, or hemisemidemiquaveritis. Rock on.

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Event/camp nurse here...pre-event/practice/performance give a pep talk on hydration/sun protection and pre-plan breaks. Have the basic stuff like sunscreen/bug spray/bandaids/ice packs handy. Gatorade powder/"drip drop" powder packets are easy to mix for oral rehydration. Try to have a shady area set up for people to cool down and rehydrate. Keep an eye on your seizure and type 1 diabetic kiddos. Know who your asthmatics are and where their inhaler is and where your bee-sting/peanut anaphalaxis kiddos are and where their epi pen is. Check out the camp nurse forum on allnurses for more ideas. Have fun!

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@nurse2033

Haha, appreciate that last one. Absolutely will do! I'm excited to see what the season brings!

@Charge200J

Thank you! I will definitely see what effort I can make to prevent any medical issues before they happen!

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