Bariatric Nursing Care

March 9, 2010

One of the most rapidly expanding specialty areas in modern nursing is bariatric nursing care, the nursing care of the morbidly obese.

Bariatric nursing care is surgical nursing care, since the general acceptance of the idea that surgery is the best treatment option for persons who need to lose 100, 200, 300 pounds or more, for whom all other options have failed.

Bariatric nursing encompasses a number of core competencies:

Anticipating and managing complications of surgery
Caring for patients with special needs
Diet planning and counseling
Ethical issues and cross-cultural sensitivities
Insurance reimbursement
Managing OR supplies and instrumentation
Managing wound care and preventing nosocomial infections
Optimizing treatment outcomes
Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and exercise
Pre-op, peri-op, and post-op standards of practice
Pre-surgical consultation and work-up
Prevention of malabsorption and malnutrition
Psychological support for lifestyle modification
Recognizing occupational hazards for bariatric nurses and related healthcare professionals
Reconstructive surgical procedures
Special equipment for transfer and comfort of morbidly obese patients
Standardizing data collection
Obesity impacts virtually all body systems. It is a major factor in social discrimination and economic deprivation.

Bariatric surgery patients are a fast-growing, new population for many care centers and nursing teams. Bariatric patients require not only postoperative care after surgical procedures, but also complex psychological and clinical assistance. Every aspect of nursing is required in the care of the obese. Few areas of nursing present greater opportunity or greater challenge.

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Bariatric Nursing Care