• Nanette K Berger, Jamie J Carr, Janelle Erickson, William F Gourash, Patricia Muenzen, Laura Smolenak, Christine G Tea, Karen Thomas, and CBN Practice Analysis Writing Group.
• Citizen's Medical Center, Victoria, Texas, USA.
• Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2010 Jul 1; 6 (4): 399-407.

BackgroundIn 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.MethodsTask 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. The definition encompassed the work of bariatric nurse coordinators, bariatric program directors, and floor nurses caring for morbidly obese and bariatric surgical patients. A survey was administered to 1084 nurses practicing in the specialty to validate the domains, tasks, and knowledge.ResultsSome differences in the time spent in each of the domains and tasks were noted for the survey respondents in the different job roles. Nevertheless, the respondents for all job roles rated the domains and tasks moderately or highly important in optimizing the outcomes for morbidly obese and bariatric surgery patients. In addition, most respondents agreed that the 54 knowledge areas were acquired during the first 2 years of practice in the specialty.ConclusionThe survey results validated a specialized body of nursing knowledge rooted in the tasks that define professional practice. The results are being used to guide the development of a certification program for nurses practicing in the specialty and to provide guidance for education and training initiatives.Copyright 2010 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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