blueheronEVF

As I am from this area I have had more than my share of ticks and (luckily) have not gotten lime disease/Borrelia burgdorferi (sorry, I graduated in microbiology...not meant to be dorky) but am very well aware of how bad it can be. As a commissioner I found that homesickness is an endemic of scout camp made only worse by the advent of cell phone usage mixed with parents who demand that their child carry, but that is a whole other thread. I have found that the cure for this is to make oneself as available as possible...often times the child just needs a friend or someone who will listen and perhaps share a candy bar or bug juice with them. Again, I thank all who responded and look forward to reading about others experiences in all positions this summer.

I am in fact an EMT-B. My questions were more directed at gathering information rathering that appearing incompetent. I know how others do things in their camps, at least those that I have been a part of, but I was not sure as to what was the most up to date information and I really did not want to go into camp unprepared as I am currently traveling in Europe and will be driving straight from the airport to the camp. Mainly, I wanted to make sure that my knowledge base was at par with expectation before arrival as there is little support or doctrine available for transition from program staff to business staff. As for medical support, I have been assured that others are staff are qualified to provide medical support and that we have a physician on 24 hour standby (again, par for the course of most quality camps) along with local fire/rescue and a hospital that is aware of our presence. In other words, all of the pieces are in place, I was more concerned with how I would fit in with those and what advice others had coming from similar positions. More than anything, I really wanted to be the best medic that the camp could have and my guess was (and still is) that by asking others I would gain outside insight for the position. Thank you for the criticism...it is by this that we all grow.

Thank you to all who posted. Unlike other jobs in camp, the role of the Health Officer has been very mysterious, at least from my perspective. As a previous Head Commissioner (w/Camp School) I actually have a copy of the 2003 Req's for camp and I had assumed that barring some great catastrophe/revision they had not changed. I'm a little rusty on my EMT stuff, but like all protocols, its riding a bike. A few hours in front of the books and a list of standing orders should be all I need as a refresher. Again, appreciate the advice.

So this is my first post on this site and I need a little advice. I have accepted a position as a Camp Medic for this coming summer (i.e. 2 weeks from yesterday). I have been looking online for some kind of a guide to being the camp medic. My experience with scouting as a youth is pretty extensive and I have worked on staff in Waterfront (Sailing Instructor), Nature (Director), and Camp Commissioner. I have assisted the medic several times in the past but I have just recently graduated from college and have taken a brief (one year) but complete hiatus from scouting in order to finish my course work. Does anyone out there have any advice in this field or better yet an online guide to the policies and procedures of BSA that affect a camp medic. Other than responding to medical "emergencies" and teaching First Aid and possibly a few other merit badges, I'm only slightly lost on what to do. My only hope at this point is that my Camp Director (whom I have never met) will tell me exactly what he would like and that the Medical Director for the camp will make his expectations clear as well. Also, I am planning on buying a crash bag for my own personal use but I was going to use it for a field emergency if needed at camp. Any suggestions on which companies do the best job (I have heard of Gall's but wanted to know if there are any others). Thank you all for your help and time

I arrive in richmond on the 20th of June to start as the Camp Medic at T. Brady Saunders. Kinda noticed this list was Virginia oriented so I thought I would share.