 Susan Baird, RN, MPH, MA
CompassPoint Editor-in-Chief and Chair
“You’re never too old to go to camp.” Susan’s
nephew, an assistant camp director, told her a few years back.
For that first experience, she and her grandson spent the summer
at Incarnation Center, a residential camp in Connecticut where
her daughter, nephews, and older grandson had spent many summers.
She learned a lot from the other nurses on the team and returned
for the next two summers as the head nurse. Then, after 35 years
in oncology nursing, she decided to try year-round nursing working
for Nature’s Classroom. She has been the year-round nurse
at Boston University’s Sargent Center for Outdoor Education
since June 2002.
Susan joined ACN in 2001 and presented a paper on year-round
camp nursing at the 2003 ACN Spring Symposium. She helped former
ACN board member Doris Nerderman offer a camp nursing workshop
in NH last June and will do so again this year. Susan will be presenting
the results of her camp’s blister prevention program at the
2004 Spring Symposium.
When Linda Erceg called Susan to discuss the possibility of creating
a content editor position for CompassPoint, there was no hesitation
on Susan’s part. Linda needed someone to identify content
needs, help authors put their experience and knowledge into words,
and provide the editing that many nurses identify as a need. “Do
you want to think about it?” asked Linda. Susan replied, “No,
I want to do it.” Susan was editor of the Oncology Nursing
Forum, official publication of the Oncology Nursing Society, for
11 years. She also started their newsletter. She has edited 5 books
and published in several journals.
Susan now wants to put her writing and editing experience to work
with camp nurses. “If a camp nurse has an idea or an interest
in writing, I can help them move that idea to a publishable piece.” She
would like to hear from nurses who have that interest. She is also
eager to hear from nurses who would like to suggest a topic for
a future CompassPoint issue. Susan notes, “Nurses have a
tendency to think that everyone already knows what they know and
that they have little to share. In camp nursing that is definitely
not true. You may have the perfect approach to a problem that is
really puzzling another nurse. So, let’s be in touch.”
CONTACT INFORMATION
Susan Baird, RN, MPH, MA
16 Highview Drive
Sandwich, MA 02563
508-888-3549
Nursusan2@aol.com
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