Evaluation of nurse's attitudes toward adult patients of size.

Background: Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States, with waistlines expanding (overweight) for almost 66% of the population (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004). The attitude of society, which includes healthcare providers, toward people of size has traditionally been negative, regardless of their own gender, age, experience, and occupation. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether bariatric sensitivity training could improve nursing attitudes and beliefs toward adult obese patients and whether nurses' own body mass index (BMI) affected their attitude and belief scores.

The connection between strong social support and joint replacement outcomes.

A myriad of emotional, informational, and tangible needs can easily overwhelm patients as they seek to navigate a complicated surgical procedure. This article demonstrates that a dedicated family member or friend supporting their loved one before, during, and after joint replacement surgery measurably impacts quality and outcomes. The multidisciplinary, multihospital study team developed the following Opportunity Statement: "To define, measure, and implement a progressive family/friend support system across the continuum of care promoting optimal patient recovery after total joint arthroplasty.

Path to bariatric nurse certification: the practice analysis.

Background: In 2005, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) nursing membership embarked on a journey to develop a specialty certification program for nurses caring for morbidly obese and bariatric surgical patients. In keeping with the certification industry best practices, a practice analysis study was conducted to create an empirically sound foundation for the new nursing specialty certification examination.

Methods: Task force meetings, subject-matter expert interviews, and an external review process were implemented to create a definition of the specialty in terms of 4 domains of practice, 45 nursing tasks, and 54 knowledge areas.

Proactive patient rounding to increase customer service and satisfaction on an orthopaedic unit.

Customer service and patient satisfaction have become increasingly important in the healthcare industry. Given limited resources and a myriad of choices, on which facets of patient satisfaction should healthcare providers focus? An analysis of 40,000 observations across 4 hospitals found 1 important intervention: timely staff responsiveness. Using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) quality methodology, the goal was set to improve staff responsiveness to orthopaedic patient needs and requests, thus improving patient satisfaction.

Evaluation of a pilot hospital-based community program implementing fitness and nutrition education for overweight children.

Purpose: Evaluate the effect of the Kids Living Fit hospital-based intervention on body mass index (BMI) percentile, adjusted for age (months) and gender in children ages 8-12 years with BMI percentiles > or = 85.

Design And Methods: Twelve weekly exercise sessions and three nutrition presentations were held. Nurses recorded BMI and waist circumference at baseline, week 12, and week 24.

Non purse-string circular ILS gastro-jejunostomy for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: a simplified approach.

A simplified technique to create the gastro-jejunostomy in an open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is described. The technique of crossing over circular staple-lines with linear hand-sewn suture-lines instead of the traditional purse-string technique, is depicted. The non purse-string technique has been used in 1,928 cases of mini-open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass with only 2 leaks, an incidence of 0.