Healthcare Team

Medical Staff FAQs

• Who are our campers?

  Our campers join us because they are diagnosed with a health condition or have a specific life challenge we serve that week. They are aged 7-18 and come from all over the Atlantic Provinces. All of our campers are reviewed medically by our Nursing Operations Manager and Spring Operations Support Nurses, in consultation with relevant clinical professionals at the IWK Health Centre to ensure that they fit the mandate of that week of camp and that they can come to camp safely and participate in most camp programs. This means that many of the campers who join us are those whose conditions are stable and well-managed to make sure that we can keep them safe at camp!

• What kinds of things do campers come to the medical centre for?

  Most of what we see in the medical centre is quite simple! Campers feel tired from full days of camp and need a break, a headache or stomach ache, a band-aid, etc. Depending on the week, we’ll see other symptoms related to the condition we’re supporting – needing painkillers or an icepack during our arthritis week, help with their ostomy during our IBD week, etc. 

• Who would I be working with?

  We have two Camp Nurses who we hire for the entirety of the summer camp season. Those Camp Nurses are our Brigadoon policies and procedures experts and help ensure that our medical centre runs consistently and smoothly each week. We are joined by other healthcare professionals each week, including someone we identify as the Condition Lead. This person is often an expert in the condition we are supporting and has experience supporting the condition at camp, so maybe someone you are paired with, as appropriate.

  We also welcome students of healthcare professions to support camper healthcare and supplement their learning outcomes. These aspiring nurses and physician assistant students offer so much to the camping environment and often bring fun and curiosity to the camper experience.

• What if something comes up that we can’t necessarily manage at camp?

  These kinds of things certainly come up! If something more complex or serious comes up while a camper is at camp, we are frequently in touch with the relevant physician on-call at the IWK, and when in doubt, we will take them to Valley Regional Hospital to be assessed. Of course, in the case of an emergency, it takes about 20 minutes for an ambulance to reach us.  

• What kind of training is provided?

  We’ll provide you with our Medical Centre policies and procedures and a Healthcare Team or Student of Healthcare Professions Handbook on acceptance to your role and prior to your summer session. When you arrive, our Summer Healthcare Team provides a thorough orientation process on Sunday morning before campers arrive. Of course, the training process is ongoing, and our Camp Nurses will be there to guide us on how to handle different situations as they come up and give reminders on our best practices.

  At Brigadoon, any opportunity to provide care for our campers can also help them build skills like resilience, confidence, and independence. We’ll ensure that you understand our program and medical philosophy strongly so that each interaction with our campers can be as impactful as possible.

• What does a day look like as a Medical Staff at Brigadoon?

  A day might look something like this: 

  7:00	Wake Up
  7:30	Med Administration
  8:00	Breakfast / Med Admin
  9:00-12:30	Med Centre Duty
  12:30	Lunch – Med Admin
  1:30	Time Off
  2:30	Cabin Inspection
  3:30-5:30	Free Time
  5:30	Dinner – Med Admin
  6:30	Evening Program
  7:30	Campfire
  8:30	Bedtime – Med Admin
  Overnight	Radio On-Call

• When is medication administered?

  Often, first thing in the morning, at mealtimes, and before bedtime, our med staff administer medications to the campers to whom they’re assigned. Of course, depending on their campers and the week of camp, campers will also have scheduled med times at other times of the day. 

  We’re committed to ensuring that our campers don’t need to miss out on the fun and impact of the camp experience to meet their medical needs. For this reason, we bring medications to them so they can return to their camp experience!

• How are duties assigned?

  Healthcare staff are assigned to different shifts throughout the day, which they spend in the med centre and responding to radio calls. When campers or staff have acute concerns throughout the day, they’ll drop by the med centre or call for assistance on the radio; we always have several people on duty throughout the day. This might also mean helping our Camp Nurses with cleaning and admin of the med centre.  

• What does 'on-call' mean at Brigadoon?

  Once bedtime meds are done for the day, our medical staff also rotate overnight on-call duty. This means that whichever medical staff member is on-call for the night goes to sleep but with the radio nearby so that they can respond if there are any medical concerns overnight. Of course, there are always many other people around who can help troubleshoot concerns and help if it’s more complicated! 

• How is time off managed?

  There is time off allocated to each member of the medical staff team each day, which means it could be spent going for a swim, having a nap or a shower break, calling home, or reading a book outside in the sun.  

  Outside of the hours on duty in the medical centre, we encourage our Healthcare Staff to get involved in what’s happening at camp! Head to archery with a group of campers, play our evening program game alongside our campers, and you won’t want to miss our campfires and talent show!