Photo courtesy of Environmental Traveling Companions	More NurseWeek Features   Smoke-Free Zone   Nurses and patients tackle nicotine addiction   Bloodless Survival     Surgical techniques to use when transfusion drops out of the equation
Nurse volunteers with Environmental Traveling Companions assist people with special needs on outdoor adventures. The organization takes individuals who are paraplegic, visually impaired, developmentally delayed, even economically disadvantaged on outings such as cross-country skiing.

As a member of the float pool at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, Susan Demars, RN, enjoys taking care of people in a variety of settings. She also loves the outdoors. As a volunteer for an organization called Environmental Traveling Companions, Demars combines the two in a meaningful way.

San Francisco-based ETC offers outdoor adventures to people with special needs. Every year, the organization takes more than 2,000 people-individuals who are paraplegic, visually impaired, developmentally delayed, even economically disadvantaged-white-water rafting, sea kayaking and cross-country skiing.

The outings couldn't happen without volunteers, and for Demars, it is a perfect opportunity to put her skills to work in a different environment.

"I think it is really important to use your skills outside of the hospital, if you can," she said. "It broadens you to a better understanding of the people you take care of."

Empathetic experience

Brad Coyle, RN, a surgical nurse at Marin General Hospital for several years and an ETC volunteer for more than 10 years, said, "The volunteer experience has absolutely made me a better nurse." Skills he has learned or perfected on ETC trips include the ability to prioritize tasks and a confidence in dealing with difficult situations. "Prioritizing is a huge part of the nursing ballgame. The ability to prioritize and think quickly is a valuable skill I built off of what I learned with ETC."

Coyle also sees people differently thanks to his volunteering. "Something I really learned is compassion and understanding. It has given me more of an appreciation for someone who just had hip surgery and is basically incapacitated. I remember taking a quadriplegic down a Class III river. Just watching someone who normally couldn't do this at all, couldn't get near it, gave me a real appreciation."

An ETC volunteer off and on for 20 years, Eric Rico, RN, works in a solo physician practice. To him, nursing is primarily a way to support a serious volunteer habit.

"For me, volunteering is a way of life," Rico said. "In ETC, you learn a lot about compassion and empathy for people who have disabilities and need special help. You learn a lot more about patience with people, and that comes in handy as a nurse in any setting. ETC and nursing require a lot of the same skills. I also learned to trust other volunteers. It makes life easier if you can trust the people you work with."

The volunteers said that their nursing skills, although not required, are an added bonus on ETC trips.

"The populations we bring out often do have medical issues, and it is reassuring to know that someone with a medical background is there," Demars said.

If this kind of volunteering sounds too much like real work, consider what these nurses say they get from the experience. "As a nurse, you see a lot of people with injuries or illnesses, and you take care of them and then send them home," Demars said. "Through the volunteer work, you see them in their lives. You see how people deal with things outside a hospital, and you get to know them on a more personal level. You get to sit around the campfire with them."

Next Page