As you prepare for camp season, you are probably busy planning activities the kids will enjoy. In your planning, have you given any thought to who will handle sick or injured campers? It isn’t a fun topic, but it is important to the success of your camp. A camp nurse is a great asset. Camp nurses can perform a wide variety of duties that will allow you to remain focused on your camp!

A camp nurse will set up a health center at your camp, and organizes information such as managing health logs, medical forms, health histories, and physical assessment data. If daily medication is a part of your camper’s life, the camp nurse will administer the medicine and keep medical records.

If you don’t have campers that need daily medication, you will still need first aid supplies. Your camp nurse can provide clean first aid supplies, attend to minor injuries, and be the liaison between parents or family members and camp staff. In a severe case that requires a camper to go to the hospital, the camp nurse can accompany the camper.

A camp nurse can also provide training and counseling. This includes helping with staff orientations and training staff to recognize medical issues. Similarly, campers are provided with a comfortable environment where they can talk about their health issues (sun burn, bug bites, poison oak and all those other camp ailments), feeling homesick, or any other concerns they may have. Not to mention, younger students are used to mom and dad being around to soothe their pain, meaning a trained person on staff is ready to help with the care they also need emotionally in this strange place.

Concerns about a contagious outbreak may not be in the front of your mind, but it is a real possibility. A camp nurse can manage communicable diseases by creating an action plan, should it become an issue at your camp. This can ensure the safety of everyone at camp.

Safety of your camp is very important. A camp nurse can handle all the details related to the overall health of your campers, while your attention can be on the overall camp experience. It is a win-win situation for everyone! This may be a hard position to fill, but campers, staff, and directors will all benefit from having a nurse at camp.