I first came to Camp Kintail as a “sprouts” camper, when I was about 6 years old. My family has a long and intricate history with camp, which is likely why it has always felt like home to me. In the summers of 2023 and 2024, I returned as a staff member, working as the Health & Wellness Coordinator. Today, I am a registered nurse working with pediatric patients, labouring moms, and neonates.
Working at camp as the H&W coordinator is a unique healthcare-related role that taught me many valuable things. Here are some of those lessons:
Go with the flow
Plans at camp are always evolving! Whether it’s a camper getting sick, thunderstorms all week, or challenging cabin dynamics, being a staff member at camp requires lots of flexibility, critical thinking, and teamwork!
Hospital trips, camper scenarios, illness, homesickness, and behavioural problems were all situations that taught me to “go with the flow”, lean on my team members, and get really good at problem-solving on the fly. Being adaptable and working as a team also help me to care for my patients while working as a nurse!
Be curious and have fun!
Being curious and having fun is not a hard thing to do at a summer camp. Fun and laughter is everywhere you go!
One of my favourite professors from nursing school always said that pediatric nursing requires not only strength, kindness, and intelligence - it also requires a strong sense of curiosity and adventure.
As a healthcare provider for children, sometimes giving a high-five, telling a funny story, or doing a craft with them is what they need to feel better.
Lots of homesick campers came to see us in Feathers. These campers didn’t need medication or first aid - they needed a grown-up to sit with them, give them a hug, and tell them it’s going to be okay. If we could make them smile or laugh before they returned back to their cabin, we knew we had done a good job.
Practice gratitude - wherever & whenever you can
While at Kintail, I was grateful for the opportunity to work in a place surrounded by God’s beautiful creation. I felt lucky to live in a place filled with beauty, and work with such beautiful people who quickly felt like family.
Practicing gratitude made each night awake with a sick camper feel worth it, because I knew that for that camper, we were bringing them comfort. In the same respect, practicing gratitude during my long shifts at the hospital makes it easier to care for my patients even on the bad days.
Kintail helped teach me what it looks like to care for other people. In nursing, this means not just administering medications and getting through the to-do list - but seeing each human I care for as a whole, valuable person.
Caroline "Dahlia" Congram
Registered Nurse
Health and Wellness Coordinator 2023-2024
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