Why do Nurses need to learn about Genomics?
Louise Drake was just 23 when she first started to feel unwell. Almost overnight she was overwhelmed with extreme tiredness and took to her bed.
After four months, Louise was largely bed bound and no longer able to work. She was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. However, when Louise’s medical team noticed a pattern in her blood test results, she was referred for genetic testing. The test resulted in Louise receiving a very different diagnosis, which transformed her future. Click here to read Louise’s story!
All nurses need to have a understanding of genomics and how it can benefit their patients. The NHS 10 Year Health Plan aims to harness advances in genomics and personalised medicine to deliver more preventative and tailored healthcare, improving early diagnosis and reducing health inequalities.
It is predicted that by 2035, 50% of all healthcare interactions will involve genomics. Genomics is no longer a specialist area, but a growing part of everyday clinical practice.
We have created this webpage to help you to develop your understanding of genomics. We have included links to lots of resources that will help you to develop your knowledge and skills.
Genetics vs Genomics
Historically scientists studied genetics. This involved studying a single gene to understand its effects on the body. As technology has improved scientists have begun to study genomics.
The image opposite was produced by the Genomics Education Programme. The Genomics Education Programme website contains a wealth of resource to support healthcare professionals to embrace the potential of genomics for their patients.
Benefits of Genomics
There are numerous ways in which genomic testing could benefit your patients. Many of these are summarised in the diagram below.
What does this mean for you?
Genomics is now included in the NMC standards of proficiency for registered nurses. All nurses should be able to use genomics to inform their “person-centred nursing assessments and developing appropriate care plans” according to their specialty and scope of practice.
The resources on this page will help you to develop your knowledge and understanding of genomics. You may wish to use these resources alongside the Genomics Learning Passport for Nurses so that you have a central place to record your learning journey.
The Nursing Genomics Learning Passport signposts you to genomics educational resources and provides a central place to record your completed CPD. It can be used as part of revalidation as it is based on the NMC continuing professional development activity log, and therefore meets the requirements for recording CPD for revalidation. The recommended time frame for completion of Part 1 is two years.
To help you along your genomics journey, we have organised the resources below into five groups so that they align with the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport. We have also identified all of the resources that are listed in the passport by labelling them with a *.
Nursing Genomics Learning Passport
Download your copy of the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport to guide you along your genomics journey!
Where to start?
To help you get started, we have listed a selection of educational resources below. These are organised into groups according to their location in the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport. We have added some other helpful resources too! Resources marked * are listed in the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport.
The ‘Specialist Roles and Pathways‘ section contains links to resources that support specific genomic testing pathways. You can choose any that are relevant to your practice.
To access some of the resources, you will need to sign up for an account with e-learning for healthcare.
Lisa’s family history prompted her medical team to refer her for genomic testing
When Lisa was admitted to hospital following a cardiac arrest, her medical team asked about her family history. Several of her relatives had died of heart issues. This prompted her team to refer her for genomic testing. The test revealed that Lisa has Long QT syndrome.
Lisa’s genetic result helped her medical team to look after her. It also meant that other members of her family could undergo genetic testing to understand their chances of developing heart problems.
Part 1: Core Concepts of Genomics
As Lisa’s story illustrates, it is important for all healthcare professionals to have an understanding of genomics. This section covers the basic concepts of genomics necessary for clinical practice.
These resources are relevant to all nurses and will lay the foundations for your genomics learning journey.
The recommended time frame for completion of part 1 is two years.
Resources marked * are listed in the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport.
Everyone in our family was healthy… genetics was definitely not on our radar!
When Daisy’s son Ralph was about 6 months old, she noticed his eyes were a little yellow. The family didn’t believe Ralph could have a genetic condition as he had no relatives with similar issues. However, a genetic test revealed that Ralph had a rare inherited liver condition.
Ralph’s genetic test result helped his medical team to understand his symptoms. It also helped his parents to understand their chances of having another child with the same condition.
Part 2: Building upon your Basic Knowledge
As Ralph’s story shows, genomics can affect patients even if they do not have a family history of a genetic condition, meaning it’s helpful for all healthcare professionals to ‘think genomics’. The following resources are suited to clinical nurse specialists and anyone with an interest in genomics who wants to take their learning further.
There is no suggested timeframe in which to complete these modules. You may not need to complete all modules – you will need to decide which modules are appropriate to your sphere of practice.
Resources marked * are listed in the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport.
Genomic testing help my medical team know exactly what type of lung cancer I have and how best to treat it.
Charlie was one of the first patients to benefit from a new blood test developed to detect lung cancer. The ctDNA test analyses tiny fragments of tumour DNA in the blood, avoiding the need for a biopsy and generating results faster.
The result of Charlie’s genomic test meant she could be given a targeted drug treatment rather than traditional chemotherapy.
Visit our ctDNA webpage to learn more about this type of testing and how it is requested.
Part 3: Integrating Genomics into Clinical Practice
The following courses and resources may be more suited to nurses who require more substantial genomics knowledge to further expand expertise as required in their role, understanding and application of genomics.
There is no suggested timeframe in which to complete these modules. You will need to decide which modules are appropriate to your sphere of practice.
Resources marked * are listed in the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport.
When you have a child who is deemed to be failing to thrive, you feel like a failure as a mother. That feeling stopped once we had a genetic diagnosis.
When Charlotte was pregnant with Maisie, scans continued to show enlarged kidneys, fluid filled cysts, a large tummy and a heart defect. The paediatric team referred Maisie for genomic testing soon after she was born.
Maisie’s genetic diagnosis helped ensure she was under the care of the relevant specialties. Many of Maisie’s clinicians had never met a patient with her very rare condition so they are learning about it alongside Maisie’s family.
Part 4: Further Information and Resources
As Masie’s story illustrates, healthcare professionals across all specialties are likely to meet patients with genetic condtions. Below we have listed further resources and where to find out more; taking your study to the next level!
There are a range of accredited taught courses from single modules to postgraduate programmes.
Resources marked * are listed in the Nursing Genomics Learning Passport.
Talking about genomics led to Bep receiving a genetic diagnosis
Bep has been diagnosed with three different types of cancer. Once she started to share her story and ask more questions, she discovered that she had a strong family history of cancer. Eventually Bep underwent genomic testing and discovered that she has Lynch Syndrome.
Today, Bep is committed to raising awareness of Lynch Syndrome amongst healthcare professionals.
Specialist Roles and Pathways
Bep first asked her doctor about Lynch syndrome following a colonoscopy. Her story illustrates the value of all healthcare professionals being able to talk to patients about genomics. A patient may mention a family history of cancer during routine screening. This could lead to a discussion about genomics.
This section contains links to resources to support specific specialist genomic testing pathways, including resources from the Clinical Pathway Initiative.
Other Helpful Links
Where can I get more information?
Visit our Education and Training page for Nurses and Midwives to continue your genomics learning journey.
How is Genomics relevant to my team?
We have a range of specialty-specific webpages to support healthcare professionals working in Rare Disease. Click the button to find resources to support your team!
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Recordings of Educational Sessions
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