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Discussion

New to Camping-need help

Hello. I have been a nurse for a few years but have limited pediatric and emergency experience. I have been looking into volunteering as a camp nurse but would like some advice on helpful resources. I am specifically looking for resources that would be helpful in emergency and assessment situations. Preferably a book that has easy look up access that I can use as a reference as needed. For instance, if a child comes to me with a suspicious looking bite or rash, I can look up when to be really concerned, and good first aid advice. I am pretty comfortable as a nurse (for instance, I'm not really concerned about CPR/choking/etc, I'm comfortable with that) but would like something to ease my anxiety about being in a non hospital environment with new responsibilities. I feel like just having a reference as a just in case would help by easing my anxiety but I want something that will be genuinely helpful in a medical/assessment way, not a book about how rewarding camp nursing is. I would like support with things like: first aid, assessment, triage.

Thanks for any help!

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    I am in a very similar situation. I did telemetry/step-down for 5 years before recently accepting a camp nursing position. I read The Basics of Camp Nursing, NOLS Wilderness Medicine, & NOLS Wilderness First Aid. I've also been encouraged to retake PALS and take the Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course at the closest children's hospital. I'm also looking into taking the Emergency Nurse Trauma Course. These classes aren't cheap but I think they will help me made quicker, more confident decisions the first time I see a critical peds trauma patient. Some cheaper alternatives I've found are YouTube videos (used with discretion of course), CompassPoint (the Association of Camp Nurses journal), and a few podcasts (I really like EM:RAP (Emergency Medicine Reviews and Perspectives, it's both informative and entertaining!). Good luck! We're in this together! :)

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    Thank you, great ideas!! Did you find the Camp Nursing book helpful? I looked it up and considered buying it but the description isn't clear on whether or not it gives actually helpful nursing information or if it's just about why camp nursing is great. I already want to do it, lol, I don't need to be convinced.

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    I highly recommend the basics of camp nursing book. It's not just ra ra fluf, it's a lot of nuts and bolts about how to start and run a health center solo. Camp nursing concentric circles of care is pretty good. I would skip the hospital courses. Your not practicing in a healthcare setting. See if you local community collage has an EMS education division, and take a PEPP class. (Pediatric education for prehospital provider. It's a good review of BLS assessments and interventions. Which are the interventions you will be doing on camp, advanced first aid/BLS. PALS, why? No crash cart on camp, no IV drugs or probably even an EKG. Trauma courses are good but really if something is bad enough to need those skills in the camp setting it should be left to EMS. IMHO.

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    Here's a good universal outdoor reference:

    A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine and Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine.

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    I agree with Big Al, the Basics of camp nursing book is really informative. This is my 14th summer as a Camp nurse and I love it! Good luck to all the new camp nurses.

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