What's in a Name?

During the most recent NABN Board of Directors Meeting (November, 2010), many aspects of the current state of the organization were considered. We reviewed the outcomes of the conference, and in spite of weather challenges and smaller-than-usual conference attendance this year, we were pleased to learn we remain financially stable. As we continued to discuss the tremendous success of the Norfolk Conference, we also began to talk about the next conference, which is tentatively scheduled for November 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. The dates are not yet finalized, but the fall plans will provide for beautiful weather in an exciting venue. More details will follow as soon as they are available. Our Conference Program Committee is already at work planning a slate of exciting speakers who will bring us up to date on the current state of the science. In addition, we will continue to engage participants in rich conversations about research, education, and policy. Special-interest groups focused on these topics are continuing their drive to provide leadership as we move the organization and our work forward.

We continue with the goal of building the organizational membership. Our newly formed Marketing Committee will be working in this direction and assisting with the conference planning and information sharing.

Conversation also returned to the topic of broadening the understanding of our population of interest, area of practice, and organizational mission. In reflecting on this, I ask you to consider: what's in a name?

Walk with me for a moment down memory lane. You will remember our brief but rich history. The National Association of Bariatric Nurses was formed from a successful Consortium between East Carolina University School of Nursing and Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, North Carolina. The Consortium formed in 2003 to consider the care of the population who often came to a surgical option for management of extreme weight issues, and was comprised of hospital leaders, academic nurses, a clinical specialist in bariatric surgery, and others interested in the topic. In June, 2004, having invited interested parties to Greenville for discussion, we were astonished by a packed house of more than 100 people interested in forming an organization to represent those who cared for this special population. A vote was taken to charter the organization, a name selected, and we were on our way. Nearly 1,000 members have joined, representing residents of almost every state and even several European countries. As we consider where we have been, let's think about where we can go.

Bariatric surgery has become more commonplace, as has the issue of extreme obesity in the population. Obesity and metabolic syndrome pervade the population and affect all aspects of daily life for many. Nurses are confronted with the issues related to and consequences of obesity in every facet of nursing practice and patient care delivery. So, conversation emerged during the recent Board Meeting to consider whether we should maintain the name of the organization as it is, or if perhaps it might be time to consider a name change that more completely encompasses the population we serve. The discussion revolved around whether or not the term “bariatric,” as used in our name and logo, continues to represent our membership and population of interest adequately.

During this conversation, Board members reflected on the term “bariatric.” Bariatric, as a term, began to appear in the medical literature in the late 1960s, and it was used to address the severest of obesity-related medical concerns. Over the past 50 years, it has come to be associated with surgical procedures used to modify or ameliorate the disease. Many of us work in these surgical practices, or have been patients of the procedure ourselves; hence our passion for the field and the patients for whom we care.

However, we also know that the term “bariatrics” encompasses so much more. We are the rehabilitation nurses managing those recovering from trauma; the emergency room nurses managing that first response to myocardial infarctions and cerebral vascular accidents, fractured bones, and medical emergencies of all sorts; we are the nurses in labor and delivery managing prenatal outcomes; and the pediatric nurses managing the care of infants and children experiencing obesity. We are wound and skin and pain management nurses. The list is endless. In truth, we are ALL bariatric nurses.

The Board grappled with these considerations and will continue to do so. We have decided that our name most accurately reflects our population of concern without misleading the reader and participants in the organization and beyond. We will, as former NABN President Dan Drake reflected in 2007, ¹ continue to grapple with our identity for a while longer as we continue to define what a bariatric nurse is for those who do not quite understand. We serve a growing contingent of the population and, by defining that contingent specifically, we continue to call attention to the vital and often different needs they experience.

So, I continue my challenge to all: spread the word! Join us for important and ground-breaking dialogue. Tell the message: we are all bariatric nurses.