Transition of care for adolescent patients with chronic illness: education for nurses.

Because of the longevity of children diagnosed with chronic illness, many adult institutions are now seeing an influx of adolescents with chronic illnesses. An urgent need exists to educate adult care nurses on adolescent development, childhood chronic illness, and techniques to guide young adult patients through illness and hospitalization.This article describes the development of an educational program for nurses who care for these chronically ill young adult patients who are transitioning to adult care.