Bariatric care involves taking care of the excessively overweight. This branch of nursing care is quickly growing to match its demand.

Bariatric nursing care is a form of surgical nursing. This is because it is generally accepted that bariatric surgery is the best option for the treatment of persons who need to lose 100, 200, 300 pounds or more. Especially for whom all other options have failed.

Bariatric nursing includes a list of core competencies:
Expecting and managing complications after surgery
Caring for those patients who have special needs
Planning the patient’s diet and counseling
Working around ethical issues as well as cross-cultural sensitivities
Insurance reimbursement
Managing instrumentation and OR supplies
Caring for the wound and preventing nosocomial infections
Optimizing treatment outcomes
Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and exercise
Pre-op, peri-op, and post-op practice standards
Pre-surgical consultation and work-up
Prevention of mal-absorption and malnutrition
Psychological support to cope with modification in lifestyle
Recognizing occupational hazards for bariatric nurses and related healthcare professionals
Reconstructive surgical procedures
Special equipment to transfer and comfort of morbidly obese patients
Standardizing data collection
Obesity impacts almost all body systems. It is a major contributing factor towards social discrimination and economic deprivation.

The number of bariatric surgery patients is fast-growing and new population is rapidly appearing for many care centers and nursing teams. Bariatric patients not only require postoperative care after surgical procedures, but also complex psychological and clinical assistance. Every possible aspect of nursing is called for while taking care of the obese. Few other areas of nursing present greater opportunities or greater challenges.