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But there are many other factors that come into play: musculoskeletal injuries from “mosh” dancing in front of the stage, claustrophobia from crowd syndrome, diabetics who want to inject insulin in private, disabled patrons who need assistance and public health issues.

“If it’s a camping show, there might be dog bites, lice, scabies,” Ferris said. She added that Rock Med volunteers have delivered babies at shows and even treated a few animals: an iguana, a horse, a dog that was dosed with LSD.

Other than a Rock Med T-shirt and the occasional post-show beer, Ferris and her colleagues receive no payment for their time. Although most volunteers are ardent music fans, as nurses they are often so busy that they don’t see or hear any of the show.

“If you thought you were going to be backstage seeing the stars, no. You’re taking care of patrons. It can be amusing at times, but it’s not glamorous,” Ferris said.

But volunteers are appreciated. A middle-aged woman in a pink satin beaded cape and rhinestone tiara thanked Rock Med staff at Shoreline for caring for a friend of hers last year. In a letter posted on Rock Med’s website, a fan named Barbara couldn’t “thank your team enough for their patience, understanding and caring” in treating a diabetic friend. “Because of your staff,” the letter continued, “they saved my friend and we were able to enjoy the day.”

Desert oasis

Helping people is what motivates Seth Schrenzel, LVN, to volunteer each year at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. “I really find fulfillment in being available to people who could use my help and who otherwise could suffer serious consequences,” said Schrenzel, who works in the urgent care clinic at Kaiser South San Francisco.

Set in the isolated and treeless Black Rock Desert 100 miles northeast of Reno, Burning Man draws more than 30,000 participants for a weeklong cornucopia of art, music, performance, and radical self-expression.

Temperatures that are well above 100 degrees during the day can plummet below 40 degrees at night, and winds can whip the desert’s fine dust, reducing visibility to zero. The participants are in wild costumes — or nothing at all, depending on the mood and weather. The event culminates with a mesmerizing display of fire dancing and the torching of a 60-foot-tall wooden man.

Dozens of volunteers

It’s an “anything goes” kind of event, but the organizers are anything but cavalier when it comes to health and safety. The fire and medical branches of Burning Man’s emergency services are staffed by dozens of volunteer professionals, with response coordinated through a centralized radio dispatch center.

Kate Gonnella, RN, a charge nurse in the ER at Kaiser Medical Center in Santa Rosa, Calif., first volunteered to work at Burning Man three years ago.

“The first time you go, there are no words to describe the scene. My jaw was at my knee. But as a nurse, when stuff is going down, you’re not really thinking about whether someone has clothes on or why their skin is dyed blue. You’re thinking, ‘Are they breathing? What’s their heart rate? Why are they so pale?’ Your clinical skills come roaring out.”

Basic care

Because medical personnel must be licensed in Nevada to perform advanced life support, volunteer nurses such as Gonnella stick to providing basic care.