Competency and Curricular Resources
Important Off-Site Curricular Resources
Practicing healthcare providers and healthcare students will increasingly use genetic and genomic knowledge information to meet the needs of their patients. To meet this growing need all healthcare professionals including nurses, physicians, and physician assistants are creating essential competencies, practice guidelines, and curricular resources in genetics and genomics for each of their professions. Genetic and genomic competencies, guidelines, curricular and CME resources, as well as National Human Genome Research training opportunities for healthcare professionals are provided in this section.
Competencies for All Healthcare Professionals
- National Coalition of Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG) [nchpeg.org]
NCHPEG was established in 1996 by the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, and the National Human Genome Research Institute. Comprised of 64 diverse health professional organizations, consumer and volunteer groups, government agencies, private industry, managed care organizations, and genetics professional societies, NCHPEG is committed to promoting health professional education and access to information about advances in human genetics. In 2007, NCHPEG published the third edition of its "Core Competencies in Genetics for Health Professionals." This report recommends that all health professionals possess certain core competencies in genetics so that they can effectively and responsibly integrate genetics into current clinical practice and education of health professionals.
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Nursing Competencies
- Genetic and Genomic Nursing: Competencies, Curricula Guidelines and Outcome Indicators, 2nd Edition
Establishes the minimum basis with which to prepare the nursing workforce to deliver competent genetic and genomic focused nursing care. First edition - Competencies and Curricula Guidelines established by Consensus Panel, September 21-22, 2005 and published by the American Nurses Association, Silver Spring, Md 2006. Second edition - Outcome Indicators established by Consensus, June 2008.
- Competency Focus
The 50 competency endorsing organizations have begun their own outreach efforts including annual meeting presentations, publications and research initiatives focused on genetics/genomics competency. To keep nurses aware of these efforts and inform them of genetic/genomics advances, a newsletter, Competency Focus, has been created and will be published periodically.
If you wish to receive updates either via a list-serv or through this newsletter, please provide your contact information to jean.jenkins@nih.gov.
Current copies of Competency Focus
All newsletters are in
format
- Competency Focus, May 2014
- Competency Focus, February 2013
- Competency Focus, January 2012
- Competency Focus, May 2011
- Competency Focus, October 2010
- Competency Focus, January 2010
- Competency Focus, March 2009
- Competency Focus, September 2008
- Competency Focus, January 2008
- Competency Focus, July 2007
- Essential Nursing Competencies and Curricula Guidelines for Genetics and Genomics: Outcome Indicators
The Outcome Indicators are an adjunct to the Essential Nursing Competencies and Curricula Guidelines for Genetics and Genomics and are intended to define for each competency the knowledge and practice indicators. The knowledge and practice indicators are not intended to be prescriptive but provide a guide to the user of essential knowledge elements and suggested practice indicators. To be consistent with the competencies, definitions will be identical between the two documents. Genetic and genomic information will be used as the context for defining knowledge and practice indicators for each competency.
- Genomic Nursing Competency Implementation Strategic Plan
A Genomic Nursing Competency Implementation Strategic Plan Panel was convened on September 16, 2013. Panelists reviewed progress made from the 2006-2011 Strategic Plan, heard testimony from key stakeholder groups, and were charged with creating a new Strategic Plan consisting of options, opportunities, strategies, partners and collaborators. The draft plan was further refined using an online modified Delphi survey resulting in the final document posted here. The 2014-2020 Strategic Plan Mission is: basic competency in genetics and genomics for all nurses. The 2014-2020 Strategic Plan Vision is that this will result in improved health of the public with awareness and utilization of genomics by nursing.
- A Blueprint for Genomic Nursing Science
This genomic nursing science blueprint summary provides the framework for furthering genomic nursing science to improve health outcomes. This blueprint, an independent recommendation of an advisory panel with input from the public, targets research to build the evidence base to inform integration of genomics into nursing practice and regulation.
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Genomic Nursing Science Blueprint: Next Steps Meeting Summary and Notes 
A meeting was held August 28, 2014 at the National Institutes of Health to determine strategies to facilitate genomic nursing research based on Blueprint recommendations (see links above). The attached executive summary and notes provide insights regarding identified researcher resources and gaps, exemplar models to be considered as a framework to support research, and platform options for promotion of genomic nursing research and collaboration. Next steps include: creation of topic specific work-groups to facilitate the development and organization of a Genomic Research Consortium. If interested in knowing more, contact jean.jenkins@nih.gov
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Physician Competencies
- Korf BR, Berry AB, Limson M, Marian AJ, Murray MF, O'Rourke PP, Passamani ER, Relling MV, Tooker J, Tsongalis GJ, Rodriguez LL. Framework for development of physician competencies in genomic medicine: report of the Competencies Working Group of the Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Physician Education in Genomics. Genet Med, doi: 10.1038/gim.2014.35. 2014. [PubMed]
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Physicians Assistant Competencies
- Physician Assistants and Genomic Medicine Meeting Summary
The goals of this meeting were to: 1) provide an opportunity for the Physician Assistant organizations to share information regarding their activities in the arena of genetics and genomics, 2) identify gaps and means to close them, 3) discuss potential roles for the participating organizations in expanding the knowledge base of Physician Assistant faculty, students and graduates regarding the application of genomics to healthcare, and 4) plan next steps for all of the organizations in attendance.
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Curricular Resources
For All Healthcare Professionals
Genetics of Complex Disease - Dr. Lawrence Brody
Lecture from the 2014 NHGRI Summer Workshop in Genomics (Short Course)
- Genetics in Primary Care [genes-r-us.uthscasa.edu]
Training program curriculum materials
- Information for Genetics Professionals [kumc.edu]
Educational, clinical, and research resources
- National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics [nchpeg.org]
Core competencies in genetics and reviews of education programs
- Genetics/Genomics Competency Center
Genomic applications in health care and disease prevention are increasingly relevant to the day-to-day delivery of care to the general public, and patients of all health care professionals. In many ways the internet is the most logical venue for the development, storage, and dissemination of educational resources for health professionals and their teachers. To address this growing need for genetic and genomic knowledge among health care professionals, in 2010 an online tool was launched to help educate the next generation of nurses, physician assistants, and now genetic counselors about this new frontier. The Genetics/Genomics Competency Center is a free, Web-based repository of peer reviewed curricular materials on genetics and genomics designed for all healthcare providers. To access this resource, visit www.g-2-c-2.org. Expansion of this tool to include other healthcare professionals, such as pharmacists and others is in progress. A Video Guide to G2C2 is available at: www.genome.gov/Careers
Educators and practicing clinicians can use the Genetic/Genomic Competency Center to find and download peer reviewed materials for use. They also can share their favorite genomic and genetic teaching resources with other educators by uploading materials, which will be regularly reviewed by the center's editorial board to ensure quality control. A rating system has also been implemented to facilitate identification by the busy educator of the most valuable resources. Visit the site to learn about the many components available at G2C2.
For Physicians
For Nurses
- Genomics in Nursing Special Issue and Webinars
Nurses bring an important perspective to the application of genomics in patient care. A Genomics in Nursing Special Issue has been published in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship regarding genomics of common health conditions with relevance for nursing practice. The issue consists of an editorial and 11 articles, all intended to provide a platform for preparing both the practicing and academic communities for the translation of genomics into practice. The articles provide an overview of: current and emerging genomic science and technology; ethical, legal, social, and nursing research issues associated with the translation of genomics into healthcare; the state of the evidence about genomic variation and clinical implications for common diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and cancer; content about both pediatric and adult conditions; and implications for international care.
A video about this special issue is available at www.genome.gov/27552312/Journal-of-Nursing-Scholarship-Genomic-Nursing-Webinar-Series. For open access to all articles visit The Journal of Nursing Scholarship Series in Genomic Nursing.
- Genetics Education Program for Nurses [gpnf.org]
Links to genetics resources of particular interest to nurses.
- Genetics Is Relevant Now [nchpeg.org]
NCHPEG and the Department of Nursing at the University of Cincinnati developed this Web-based educational program that illustrates current genetics applications in nursing practice. Specifically, the content addresses the relevance of genetics in infectious disease, oncology nursing, and common disease. It includes audio clips from genetics nursing experts and from patients.
For Physician Assistants
- Genomics in Physician Assistant Practice
An article series on genomics from the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants that demonstrates how genetics is becoming the fundamental science for all health care providers and how it has, and soon will, influence clinical practice for Physician Assistants (PA).
- National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics [nchpeg.org]
An annual meeting that often provides meeting slides and information on their Web site. Other educational programs of value are listed on their Web site, including a recently developed Web-based programs: Genetics in the Physician Assistant's Practice [nchpeg.org], which provides an interactive genetics primer, family history exercises, genetic testing information, teaching tools, and links to other resources.
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Last Updated: February 16, 2016
