Today was our first full day in the clinic passing out medications and interacting with the campers. Students were split into two groups, one in the morning and one in the evening. The morning started out with a steady flow of campers starting at 6am. The students and nurses fell into a rhythm of teamwork which consisted of greeting campers as they walked in the clinic, getting their information, and pulling their medications. There was some downtime mid-afternoon, which allowed students to explore the camp and interact with the campers at various activities. The evening picked up again and was steady until around 10pm.
Today was all about observing, learning and problem solving. We learned quickly that giving medications to the campers required us to think about more than just the Five Rights of Medication Administration. Some things to keep in mind when giving campers their medications included:
- Can the camper swallow their medication?
- Were special instructions included in their MAR on how to give the medication?
- Do they take their medication in applesauce, pudding or with water? Crushed in a cookie? Wrapped in a fruit role up?
- Can the camper verify who they are verbally?
- What do we do when a camper spits out their medication? Or throws it? Or refuses to it take?
Although these are extra steps to giving the campers their medications, they are vital to making the med clinic operate smoothly and creating an enjoyable experience for the campers!
We are learning to be creative and flexible in our approach to giving medications depending on the needs of the population. We have been able to practice assessing the needs of each camper and tailoring our level of care to them. Some campers are able to take their medications with a drink of water, while others take multiple people figuring out playfully ways persuade them to take their meds. Our admiration for the caregivers of the campers grew as we realized the amount of time, energy, and mental space it takes to not only keep these children physically safe, but medically safe as well.
One of the best parts of the day was being able to interact with the campers in the clinic and ask about their day. It is rewarding to see how much fun the campers are having and knowing that it would not be possible if they were not able to get the medical attention they need. We are excited to be here this week to learn the ins and outs of medication administration with a new population and in a new environment.
Blog written by ABSN students C.C. McCarver and Kayla Starr.