do you recommend bariatric nursing?

Nurses Career Support

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I have an interview to work on a bariatric surgical floor (not the OR itself) on Thursday. I'd never considered bariatric - I'm trying to get back home to my home city, so I've been applying everywhere there. My dream job is ICU or stepdown or ER, maybe OR or PACU; unfortunately, it looks like most of those jobs require experience, so I'm thinking of getting a med-surg job (as my first job, I've worked 2 years on nights on a post-orthopedic surgical/med-surg floor), working it for maybe a year, and then trying to do an internal transfer to more critical care.

Can anyone tell me about bariatric nursing? I've read a little about it here, and a few themes came up: 1) lots of physical work (I'm used to turning Pts and helping them ambulate after hip/knee surgery, but they're usually

What kind of age group is it?? I'm thinking probably middle-aged? I do prefer younger or middle-aged.

More men or women? (Middle-aged/early elderly whiny anxious neurotic women who won't lift a hand for themselves -- not saying that statement represents bari Pts, because I don't know, I'm just saying that I don't like the little sub-demographic of "Entitled Helpless usually-female aged 40-70 Pt" -- are my bane.)

How do the Patients feel, emotionally? Are they glad that they're doing this, and excited about a new step in their lives?

Is it emotionally satisfying? Do you see the fruits of your labor? (One of the things I like about ortho nursing is seeing the Pt work and get stronger.)

Do the Pts tend to come back for surgical revisions or new surgeries, or is it a one-time deal?

I'm kind of wondering if I should take the job (if they offer it) or keep searching for something "better." It is a good hospital (I went to school there) with one of the best reputations in the city, and maybe I should just take it, get some knowledge/skills out of it and appreciate it for what it is, and then try to internally transfer within a year.

Hope I didn't offend anyone; thanks for any replies in advance.

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