Camp Hanover is very excited to once again welcome South University nursing students to be part of our summer camp team! As part of a cooperative initiative with the school, Camp Hanover’s summer camp program serves as a clinical Pediatric Studies location.
The nursing students are in the final semester of a 3-year program. South University Associate Professor, Dr. Junyanee Griffen, coordinates the program and works along with Camp Hanover’s Health Center staff, Ginger Mary and Angela Parker. Ginger (a Nurse Practitioner) and Angela (a Licensed Practical Nurse) serve as the students’ supervisors and mentors while they are at camp. The goal of the clinical phase of the program is to provide an opportunity for the students to apply what they have learned in their studies and broaden their “hands on” experience.
Real World Experience in a Real World Environment…
Camp Hanover provides a location where these students can learn of the importance of different stages of child development as it relates to health care. In a camp setting, the nursing students are able to interact with children of all ages in a outdoor, active environment. The students have opportunities to learn about, prepare for and practice providing medical care in situations that are often different than those you might find in an indoor setting, a school or hospital.
Making Your Arrival at Camp Healthier and More Efficient…
The nursing students participate in a rotation where they spend three days at camp every week. On Sundays during camper arrival, the students assist with health checks and healthcare-related paperwork. Thanks to their efforts, and those of a handful of other volunteers, we are able to move parents and campers through the arrival check-in process very efficiently and get you out to your longhouse to meet your camp counselor in a very short period of time. On two other days during a typical week, you’ll find the students in the Health Center, assisting Angela with the daily routines that we employ to provide top-notch care at camp.
As part of their clinical experience, each student prepares and presents a brief health care lesson to a small group of campers at some point during the summer. A student may share about the importance of hydration in the summer heat, how washing your hands helps keep you healthy, or how to protect your self from tick or other insect bites and the diseases they can carry.
Camper health and wellness is a top priority at Camp Hanover and we couldn’t be happier with the assistance that the students from South University provide our camp health care staff and campers. The students bring with them fresh medical knowledge and great ideas we hope to take advantage of and implement in our Health Center to improve the care we provide. And we’re thrilled to offer the students a taste of camp!
You Can Lend a Hand Too…
Are you a nurse, doctor, paramedic or other medical professional? Your expertise could make a big impact on camper’s time at camp, and we could use your help. Consider volunteering on Sunday afternoons to assist our Health Center staff and the nursing students with Sunday Check-in. As the saying goes, many hands make light work! Your role during Sunday Check-in would involve talking with parents and campers about individual health care concerns while at camp, reviewing health care paperwork to make sure a camper’s parent has provided all the requested information and emergency contact information, and receiving and logging any medications that a camper might need to take while at camp.
Another way you can help is by volunteering in the Health Center during the week. By joining camp for a day, an afternoon, an evening, even a few hours, you can help with the ouchies and boo-boos that are commonplace in a summer camp environment. You might also give the Health Care staff a chance to take a breather and recharge their batteries.
Sound interesting? If you are ready to get involved or would like more information, contact our Health Center Manager, Angela Parker at (804) 779-2811 or by emailing volunteer@camphanover.org