What Is a Camp Nurse?
Camp nurses are nursing professionals who serve the community, and mostly children and teens in a camp environment. Camp nurses are mostly busy during summer camps or during other camping seasons serving people attending camps that go for days, weeks and sometimes even months. However, most of these camps are temporally so the nurses do not have have permanents residents in these camping sites, unless they work in permanent camping facilities.
Most camps house either teens or children who come with their staffs or administrators who travel with them in camping sites that may be away from home, or in the wilderness. This means that they would be at quite long distances and away from hospitals, clinic or health care facilities, and that is where camp nurses come in as first-respondents in case there were any incidents during the camping period. They are also charged with ensuring that the entire population making camp are in good health and would most likely go through the entire camping without any critical health challenges. Camp nurses are also entrusted with attending to injuries or any illness that may befall any of the campers during the duration of the camp. Camp nurses are also charged with catering for the disabled and the severely ill to ensure the health and the safety of all campers.
Becoming a Camp Nurse
Almost all nurses with an AND or a BSN can become a camp nurse. However, nurses with a background in pediatrics, trauma unit or emergency care tend to do well in the camp nursing environments. Additionally, since they usually work in fairly independent, lone and fairly secluded environments, they are expected to make quick but sound medical emergency decisions, which is a normal routine in succeeding at this job. In the age of technology, most professionals are turning to the internet to google for extra information on how to carry out their personal and even professional tasks. However, some camps may not even have the internet or cell reception as they tend to be in remote places and in forests, so camp nurses must have sound professional experiences to expedite care in this remote environment. Camp nurses must also have top-notch managerial and leadership skills so that they can be in a position to document and record visits and treatments carried out in the camping environment.