The Department of Integrated Health Continuing Education: Addressing Total Bariatric Patient Care, Helping You Fulfill CEUs
A Message from Tracy Martinez
Tracy Martinez, RN, BSN, CBN, is Department Editor:
Integrated Health Continuing Education, Bariatric Times; Program Director, Wittgrove Bariatric Center, La Jolla, California.
Dear Readers:
I am delighted to be the Department Editor of Integrated Health Continuing Education, a new series dedicated to providing accredited activities for integrated health professionals specific to bariatric patient care. As editor, it is my goal is to offer diverse and uncommon, yet important topics to help build knowledge of professionals caring for the surgical patient. The ability for the integrated health professional to care for the patient in the pre-, peri- and post-operative stages requires vast study on multiple topics. The long-term success of the patient’s health includes many aspects of care from pre-operative assessment and medical optimization, patient education, and follow up, all of which include the professional expertise of every integrated team member.
An integrated team approach with specialized education and training plays a valuable role in the patient’s short- and long-term health and wellbeing. As a bariatric program director, past president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Integrated Health section, and co-chair of the Multidisciplinary Care Committee, I am aware of the challenges we face in acquiring continuing education, especially on the specialized subjects of obesity and bariatric surgery. All too often, employers reduce reimbursement for staff education, and in many healthcare systems, specialty educational offerings in hospital settings are declining. Also, many integrated health professionals are not able to attend medical conferences due to scheduling and financial constraints. All the while, we are responsible for possessing astute assessment skills and completing a determined number of continuing education hours for our respective professional licenses (e.g., registered nurse, registered dietitian, psychologist, physical therapist, ASMBS certified bariatric nurse).
Bariatric Times has heard your responses to reader surveys, and seeks to fill this unmet need through this new department. Along with providing interesting and stimulating articles on topics you care about, the series will offer the following benefits:
• Each activity will be archived within the digital edition and APP, allowing reader access after publication
• Post-tests can be submitted within one year of an article’s issue date, giving you ample time to complete an activity.
• Easily share activities with colleagues online.
We hope this new department will help enhance your understanding of bariatric patient care while fulfilling your need for continuing education credits. The authors of this series will cover a variety of topics, including assessing and responding to postoperative intra-abdominal versus intraluminal bleeding, which will appear next month.
The goal is to serve your needs for education and knowledge necessary in caring for the bariatric patient, so I encourage readers to suggest topic ideas (e-mail: [email protected]). I also encourage you to spread the word—forward these activities to colleagues who you feel may also benefit. I am excited to be involved in this important endeavor, and look forward to hearing from you soon!
Sincerely,
Tracy Martinez, RN, BSN, CBN
Support for Integrated Health Continuing Education Series 1 provided by Ethicon.
Category: Editorial Message, Past Articles
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