Summer Camp Teaches Important Lessons

Megan McCullin, senior nursing student, reports:

As the summer before senior year was approaching, I began applying for nursing externships. Frustrated and disappointed with no externship, I sought out Dr. Lynn Warner, York College nursing faculty member, for advice and encouragement. It was her suggestion that made me turn in a new direction. At the age of 21, I was going back to camp!

During the summer, I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer at two different summer camps for five weeks: Camp Carefree in Stokesdale, NC and Camp Wannaklot in Rutledge, GA.

I worked with children who have spina bifida, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, seizure disorders, neurological deficits, hemophilia, and bleeding disorders. For one week, these children had the chance to forget about the limitations of their illnesses and focus on who they are and what they can do.

I watched as children faced their fears and overcame challenges. I cried with children frustrated by the limits of their conditions. I shared in the celebrations of children who learned how to ride a bike or climb to the top of the rock wall for the first time. It was a humbling, emotional, and memorable experience to say the least.

These children did not care that I was a nursing student as long as I would sing “Call Me Maybe” sixty times over. They did not give a hoot that I knew the pathophysiology of spina bifida as long as I would play a game of late night “Go Fish.” They could have cared less that I knew what medications they were on as long as I would do their hair for the dance. What mattered to these children was that I was there.

These children did not care that I was a nursing student as long as I would sing “Call Me Maybe” sixty times over. They did not give a hoot that I knew the pathophysiology of spina bifida as long as I would play a game of late night “Go Fish.” They could have cared less that I knew what medications they were on as long as I would do their hair for the dance. What mattered to these children was that I was there.

This summer, I did not open a single textbook, make any drug cards, or create a nursing care plan, but I learned. I learned the power of presence and the importance of listening. I learned that the simple things are sometimes the most meaningful and that every experience in life prepares you for the next. Looking back now, I may not have gotten the externship of my dreams, but I did get an experience of a lifetime.

Photo: Megan McCullin, right, with camper in Stokesdale, NC.