One of the most exciting fields of modern health care development, advances in genetics and genomics offer significant potential to benefit both patients and those providing health care services. New techniques are improving options around screening, diagnosis, treatment, pharmacogenomics, and general lifestyle advice; and have the potential to affect the work of every practicing nurse in the U.S.
Patients now expect nurses to have an understanding of the care issues around genetics; while the ethical dimension is of paramount concern for nurses, who now have to take into account the ethical challenges around offering these new treatments. At the American Nurses Association (ANA), we are determined to help equip nurses with the tools they need to deal with these challenges, both in terms of educating on the specifics of new treatments, and helping promote a better understanding of the ethical issues surrounding them.
With that in mind, in 2005 we partnered with the National Cancer Institute ,the National Human Genome Research Institute, and the Office of Rare Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to convene a panel of nurse leaders to identify, review, seek public comment, and publish a new framework for educating nurses on the issue. The panel’s efforts produced The Essential Nursing Competencies and Curricula Guidelines for Genetics and Genomics, which established the minimum basis for preparing the modern nursing workforce to deliver competent genetic and genomic-focused care.
Endorsed by 47 representative nursing organizations and the National Coalition of Health Professional Educators in Genetics (NCHPEG), and updated in a new edition in 2008, the document still provides the gold standard for practicing nurses when it comes to the impact of genetics and genomics.
Find out more about ESSENTIALS OF GENOMIC NURSING: COMPETENCIES
Find out more about ANA’s Center for Ethics and Human Rights
In such a fast-moving field, new thinking and approaches can emerge on a regular basis. To help you stay on top of developments – both in terms of practice options and ethical questions – we have collated an extensive series of resources and links to organizations related to genetics.
NCHPEG is an "organization of organizations" committed to a national effort to promote health professional education and access to information about advances in human genetics. NCHPEG members are an interdisciplinary group of leaders from more than 50 diverse health professional organizations, consumer and volunteer groups, government agencies, private industry, managed care organizations, and genetics professional societies. By bringing together these diverse groups to focus on the educational needs of health care professionals, NCHPEG is able to draw on the collective experience and expertise to promote genetics education in a variety of ways.
NCHPEG's mission is to promote health professional education and access to information about advances in human genetics to improve the health care of the nation. NCHPEG seeks to fulfill this mission by:
ISONG is a global nursing specialty organization dedicated to fostering the scientific and professional growth of nurses in human genetics and genomics worldwide. The ISONG vision is: caring for people’s genetic and genomic health. To foster the scientific, professional, and personal development of members in the management of genomic information.
The ISONG Goals:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Genomics and Precision Health
Genomics and Precision Health Weekly Update
National Cancer Institute
NCI PDQ® Cancer Genetics Information Summaries
The Genetics of Cancer
NCI Cancer Genetic Services Directory
Biomarker Testing for Cancer Treatment
Genetic Testing for Inherited Cancer Susceptibility Syndromes
NCI Dictionary of Genetic Terms
National Human Genome Research Institute
Family Health History for Healthcare Professionals
Global Genetics and Genomics Community
Healthcare Provider Genomic Education Resource
Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics
Talking Glossary
Released in March 2012 by ANA in partnership with the International Society Of Nurses in Genetics, this publication built on much of the work contained in the Essentials of Genetic and Genomic Nursing: Competencies, Curricula Guidelines and Outcome Indicators (2nd Edition).
In 2005, ANA partnered with the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Cancer Institute, and the Office of Rare Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to host a consensus panel of nurse leaders to identify, review, seek public comment and publish essential genetic and genomic competencies for all registered nurses. The document was based on the review of earlier peer-reviewed published work reporting practice-based genetic and genomic competencies, guidelines, and recommendations. The resulting publication, The Essential Nursing Competencies and Curricula Guidelines for Genetics and Genomics was endorsed by 47 representative nursing organizations and in January 2007 by the National Coalition of Health Professional Educators in Genetics (NCHPEG) .
In 2009, Essentials of Genetic and Genomic Nursing: Competencies, Curricula Guidelines, and Outcome Indicators, 2nd Edition was published (See Below). This updated edition succinctly addresses and articulates the competencies essential for all nursing practice, as well as the subsequent curricular guidelines for all nursing education. 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. Developed by an independent panel of nurse leaders from clinical, research, and academic settings, this monograph reflects their goal: to establish the minimum basis for preparing the nursing workforce to deliver competent genetic and genomic-focused nursing care. To supplement its primary content, it also includes a comprehensive selection of resources that pertain directly to the competencies and guidelines. As a result, Essentials of Genetic and Genomic Nursing: Competencies, Curricula Guidelines, and Outcome Indicators, 2nd Edition, proves to be an essential resource for nursing professional development at all levels.
Advances in genetics and genomics are being translated into practice every day. Examples include screening, diagnosis, treatment, pharmacogenomics and lifestyle choices. An understanding of the ethical challenges encountered by those receiving genetic and genomic-based health care is an essential competency for all nurses. Look here for resources that address current and emerging topics in the expanding use of genomics, cutting-edge research, and developments in policy.
