does camp "heal?" and other thoughts from a camp doc

By Adam Guy, Director of Marketing and Communications

Throughout her extensive career working with children, Dr. Andrea Békési, Medical Director at Bátor Tábor, the SeriousFun Camp in Hungary, has taken a holistic approach to medicine. She believes that caring for the soul and mind is just as important as administering pills and injections and taking X-rays in the successful treatment of a patient. Camp has been the place where she has most readily seen the success of this approach in action. We wanted to hear from the camp doctor about how camp has affected her as a physician and what others can learn from her experience.

What is your favorite part about being the Medical Director at Bátor Tábor?
Caring for children with illness and their families at camp is completely different than treatment in a hospital. At camp, they feel free and happy. The person rather than the disease becomes the focus. I find it very creative and challenging to adapt pediatrics for different activities, such as the high ropes course. I also love working with such a great team. At Bátor Tábor, we have 70 volunteer health-care professionals per year attending our sessions. Selecting, training and managing them is both a great challenge and great responsibility. But over the years, I've learned that the more I give to other people, the more I get back in return. I just love camp!

Has a camper ever said anything to you that really surprised you or stuck with you?
I remember once, when I first got involved with Bátor Tábor, one camper said to me, "Camp changes lives; not only lives of campers, but also lives of volunteers and donors." I had never thought about it this way before, but she was right. This young girl had been a patient at my hospital years before when she was 14 years old. She later went on to become a volunteer and now runs a camp in her home country of Romania.

How do you see medicine differently now that you've been at camp?
It's not that I see medicine differently, per say. I've always believed in a holistic approach to practicing medicine, where patients are unique and the symptoms affecting the soul and mind are as important as those affecting the body. Camp is a place that supports this approach well. It focuses on possibilities over fears. It offers an atmosphere of "team" to caring for kids. That's the real difference.

Is it fair to say that camp can "heal" children in some way, even if not medically so?
From a holistic perspective... YES! Our outcomes research has proven that therapeutic recreational camp program has a positive impact on self-confidence, as well as, on social relations of campers. A camper once said to me: "Disease can be cured at hospital, but it is not easy to learn how to live again. This can be achieved at Bátor Tábor through the child's experiences." I would definitely call this "healing." I also believe in the power of healthy eating. I've been able to influence the food menu at camp and have even developed a cookbook of recipes. Eating well is also a part of healing.

Why should a nurse or other medical practitioner consider spending time volunteering or working at Bátor Tábor or any SeriousFun camp?
It is an exceptional opportunity to practice and experience "the other side of the child and the profession," as children behave in a more natural way at camp, allowing their true colors to shine. After experiencing this, you will always recognize those traits while practicing in the hospital, too. And by working at camp, you will learn new things about yourself that definitely will make you a better medical professional.

When not helping children in the medical center, what is your favorite thing to do at camp with the kids?
I love doing arts and crafts with the kids. It gives me the opportunity to talk with them in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. I also feel honored when I get asked to participate in Stage Night, our camp's talent show. That is about trust and love for me. I once got asked to play the role of a tree. A tree is a symbol of stability and strength and serves to give shadow and protection to those beneath its limbs. What a perfect part for me to play, wouldn't you agree?

Dr. Andrea Békési has been the Medical Director at Bátor Tábor, the SeriousFun Camp in Hungary, for the last seven years. Prior to camp, she spent more than 15 years working in hospitals, which includes serving as head of Pediatrics, Oncology, Hematology and Hospice Care at the Bethesda Children's Hospital of the Hungarian Protestant Church. To learn about Bátor Tábor, visit http://www.batortabor.hu/eng.