Sporting Event Nurses Are you a sports fanatic? Or maybe you enjoy any sports, or being around athletes? Regardless of your reason for the love of sports, maybe you should consider combining your nursing expertise with the athletic world. Professional Team Nurse Professional sporting teams have a staff of medical advisors to care for the players. A professional team nurse is, in most cases employed by the owner or owners of the team. Some nurses that work in this capacity only work games and events when the team is in their home place, so travel is not involved. Others may go wherever the team goes, which for several months out of the year can involve travel. During the off season the nurse generally continues to work, and is available and on call for the team players, to ensure they are in good condition for the following season of play. A sporting event nurse that works with a team will assist the physician to ensure the health of all team members, and will usually be responsible for managing medications that players are prescribed. A professional team nurse has numerous responsibilities, the health and physical well being of the team depends on the medical staff, which the nurse is a very important part of. Related: Handling Thyroid Conditions in Your Patients Stadium/Arena Nurse A nurse that works for the actual stadium or arena will cover the medical department for any event occurring within. This can range from baseball, soccer, football, concerts, or events such as truck pulls, or carnival type events. The nurse will be employed by the arena or the company that owns the rights to provide medical services to the arena. This is a very versatile position, and can range from caring for an injured athlete, to an injured observer those trips down a flight of steps. Depending on the time of year, you could see frostbite from cold, or during summer months, heat exhaustion. While frostbite is rare in these types of events, heat exhaustion is fairly common. Concerts can great fun, and entertaining, however, there are the occasional people that take their good time to an entirely new level. There are always paramedics at the events, and in the case of an emergency, paramedics will transport an injured person or persons to a hospital.
A Typical Stadium/Arena Event While the medical dilemmas can vary at any event, the following is medical incidents of two events, a monster truck pull, and a rock concert: Truck Pull:
A participator in the event suffered a broken ankle falling from his truck.
A spectator fell from the 7th row to the 3rd for an suffered an injury that required 10 sutures.
A fan became overheated and passed out, however, was fine after receiving water, and resting in front of a fan.
A participator in the event stood too close to a riding cart used to move equipment, and his foot was run over, resulting in a severe sprain.
A child attending the event fell climbing steps and needed first aid treatment to some scrapes Related: Understanding and Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections
Concert:
A concert goer suffered from drinking alcohol in excess. Unsure how severe the sickness was, the patient was transported to a hospital.
A second concert goer became ill from consuming too much alcohol, however, was treated on the scene and released.
An audience member attempted to run onto the stage and security intervened, the security staff suffered a busted lip and a bloody nose, and the intruder suffered a sprained shoulder.
Four people were rushed to the emergency room for drug overdoses, their conditions were unknown.
Medical emergencies at the events can vary widely, but most are minor, treated at the scene and released. A stadium/arena nurse should be well versed in a variety of conditions, including first aid, CPR, alcohol toxicity, and drug overdoses. They must be able to make spontaneous decisions quickly, as there is not always a physician on the scene. This can be an exciting and eventful job, however, it does require primarily nighttime, and
weekends as a routine work schedule. Because you often deal with patients that may be intoxicated, law enforcement is generally there and available to assist as needed. You will be protected from any physical retaliation, but verbal abuse toward anyone in the treatment area is common when patients are inebriated. Working in this capacity can be a perfect fit for the right person. You must be comfortable with working on your own and with team collaboration with paramedics. If you love sport and concerts, maybe it's an option for your nursing career. Related: Leading Registered Nurse, Hope Hutslar, RN, will be Honorably Mentioned in the Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter