I want to preface this by saying that I am not trying to be judgmental or attack a particular class of people. I have a very real concern for the safety of my body and that of other nurses when it comes to providing what is often total care for bariatric patients. I know that many people here will talk about going to the gym, lifting, and maintaining a strong core, but let’s be frank. At a certain point, the human body is just not able to safely handle/maneuver these bariatric patients, even if there is a team effort involved. Sometimes they are so large that a hoyer lift is insufficient, if you even have it at all. I have worked at a major hospital in Oklahoma and have observed med-surg nurses wearing back and neck braces after years spent caring for this patient population. I also recall one of my old nursing professors who had to leave bedside for nursing education after she sustained a severe back injury while trying to turn a bariatric patient. Can’t go jogging like she used to or even stand for long periods of time during a lecture. Does anyone else here agree? It just seems that nurses and the assisting staff are tasked with thankless grunt work and asked to sustain potentially lifelong injuries just to be rewarded with more abuse from the people they are caring for. The more I think about it, it just doesn’t seem worth it. I can understand why new grads want to avoid med-surg like the plague and only work bedside for the minimum amount of time that they have to before bouncing to a provider role. I can also understand why more experienced nurses opt out of healthcare altogether.   submitted by   /u/Necessary-Watch-2311 [link]   [comments]