Moore Regional Nurse Earns Bariatric Nursing Certification
| Date Posted: 12/19/2013
PINEHURST – Junghyang Yun, R.N., first began caring for weight-loss surgical patients in her native South Korea.
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Junghyang Yun, R.N. |
After moving to the United States and joining the nursing staff at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, she developed an even greater interest in weight-loss surgical care.
Earlier this year, Yun earned her certification as bariatric nurse from the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.
“Bariatrics is a fairly new field of health care, which provided me a challenge to become a better medical-surgical nurse,” she says. “I enjoy teaching and developing in-service education on post-operative care, and my supervisor has given me the opportunity to make a positive influence on nursing care in our unit.”
Yun – known as “June” to her patients and “Hyangi” (her Korean nickname) by her co-workers on Moore Regional's First Surgical nursing unit – has been with Moore Regional since 2010. Previously, she had more than 12 years of professional experience that included emergency room, pediatric ICU and medical-surgical nursing in one of South Korea's flagship university hospitals.
“Ms. Yun is a highly motivated professional with a keen interest in weight-loss surgery,” says Raymond Washington, M.D., the medical director of Moore Regional's weight-loss surgery program. “Because she is so motivated, she has worked very hard to improve her professional knowledge, not only on the local but also on the national level. She is just the kind of professional we need to take our weight-loss surgery program to the next level.”
Yun earned her associate degree in nursing in 2001 from Taegu Science College and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 2006 from Korea National University, South Korea. She also has a teaching certificate in education.
She immigrated to the United States in 2009 after marrying an American and became a U.S. citizen in March of this year. She is certified as a medical-surgical registered nurse as well as a bariatric nurse, and she is a member of Moore Regional's Education and Nurse Practice Councils.
Yun's role as a bariatric nurse involves not only post-operative care but also patient education. Both are important components of the weight-loss surgery process.
“The bariatric patient population deserves quality health care,” says Yun. “Many times, these patients are anxious and sometimes scared over what to expect after surgery. Nurses who understand the process and patient issues can provide much better care.”
For more information on the weight-loss surgery program at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, call (800) 364-0499 or visit www.ncweightlosssurgery.org.
