A credentialing program for nursing staff caring for pediatric patients with an ilizarov apparatus

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of an educational program that was implemented at a postacute pediatric rehabilitation facility to prepare the nursing staff to provide quality care for patients undergoing limb lengthening. Patients undergoing limb lengthening and limb reconstruction by the Ilizarov orthopedic method wear a highly complex external fixation device that has numerous variations. As such, it is a type of apparatus that pediatric rehabilitation nurses are unaccustomed to dealing with in the clinical arena. The nursing department at the facility described in this article undertook an intensive educational and credentialing program to ensure staff competency, parent satisfaction, and quality patient care for cases involving limb lengthening and reconstruction.