2007 camp nurse at Mitigwa boy scout camp--Woodward, IA.

When Petra Lamfers sent an e-mail for a nurse at Camp Mitigwa, I was unemployed at the time. I always wanted to experience camp nursing because camps were a big part of my childhood. Plus, I thought it would be fun. My practice in the hospital was as a wound, ostomy, continence nurse, so switching to first aid did not sound so difficult.

My first day started out with thunderstorms and tornado warnings. The scouts and leaders spent an hour and half in the ravines waiting for the clear signal. Lucky for me I was in the health lodge--air conditioned. From that incident only one camper (out of 470) ended up in the health lodge with hypothermia.

The majority of cases involved giving medications which needed to be refrigerated, poison ivy reactions and gastrointestinal upsets. One scout had such a severe poison ivy reaction that I sent him to the camp physician, Dr. James Hardinger, in Boone. I ended up in the hospital myself with reactive ileus--no previous symptoms. Boone County Hospital staff was awesome, the care superb.

Dehydration was a great concern especially on days which that the heat index reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The staff excelled in reminding everyone to drink at least one cup of water per hour, so heat exhaustion and dehydration cases were minimal.

A small number of scouts had homesickness which was treated with the Altoid cure. Yes, the breath mints. It worked about 50 percent of the time. I learned to get creative with distraction techniques and also to recognize that home was the only answer in some cases.

The most challenging aspect of the job was, of course, the paperwork--who had completed medical forms in order to swim and stay at camp. And just when I got to know some of the campers, they went home on Saturday, Cub Scout packs in Sat. afternoon, left Sunday morning, and Boy Scout troops in Sunday afternoon.

My brothers had been in scouts so I knew a little about the association. However, I was so impressed with how well the scouts behaved, and what a tremendous job the staff and the leaders do in working with these young boys and men. I left with a deep respect for this organization, and felt blessed I had the opportunity to work with them.

If you would like the same rewarding summer camp experience as Mary Sweeney, you can contact Pete Langston, Mid-Iowa Council of Boy Scouts Des Moines, at 515-266-2135.

By Mary K. Sweeney, RN, CWOCN