Topic: Increasingly, more children and adolescents are attending camps with mental health concerns. This can pose a challenge for camp nurses who may lack experience in assessment and treatment of mental health issues.
Purpose: To focus on the importance of addressing and treating mental health needs of children and adolescents at camp utilizing the Scope and Standards of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Practice.
Sources: Personal observations, camp nursing experience, and scholarly published literature.
Conclusions: It is paramount that mental health needs of children and adolescents at camp are addressed and managed appropriately by the camp nurse. Education of camp nurses and camp administrators is also a vital part of providing care.