Medical Minute: Volunteer Theresa and Nurse Practitioner Week
November Medical Minute: Nurse Practitioner Week
We’re celebrating Nurse Practitioner Week and all our Nurse Practitioners who support us at Roundup River Ranch! As Cabin Nurses, they are crucial to keeping our campers happy and healthy throughout our Summer Camp and Family Camp sessions. But campers aren’t the only ones who get to enjoy The Power of Camp!
Theresa needed her spark back. After working as an ICU Nurse for six years, she was looking for a way to reconnect with the meaning that first drew her to the medical field. One day, she posted a video on TikTok, asking her community how she could overcome her burnout. A nurse reached out and suggested she volunteer at a SeriousFun Children’s Network camp.
That’s how Theresa, known affectionately at camp as “Tree,” became a week-long cabin nurse at Roundup River Ranch. “It’s given me respite, and it’s taught me that there’s so much more out there. There’s more, sort of avenues that I can use my nursing skills to make a difference. It was really refreshing for me to see the other side – there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Theresa spent the week supporting her cabin with medical care and camp programming. When she wasn’t supporting campers, she was fishing, petting horses, and making art. She even faced her fear of heights by climbing the rock wall and ziplining down, telling herself, “If my kids can do it, I can do it.” Theresa came to camp to reignite her spark for nursing. She left with new friends, meaningful experiences, and a fresh perspective on what medical care means to her.
Most of all, she hopes campers embraced joy at camp and were able to focus on the fun of being a kid. “Those are memories that I hope they remember. Not when they were getting their medicine and things like that. I hope me volunteering here gave them an opportunity to feel special.”
It’s volunteers like Theresa who embody the camp experience and our overall mission. We are so grateful to Theresa and the rest of our Nurse Practitioners for sharing their expertise and Powering Hope & Joy at camp each season!
Interested in volunteering at Roundup River Ranch? Visit RoundupRiverRanch.org/Volunteer to learn more.
