What a pleasure to read your thoughtful ideas for addressing the educational needs of advanced practice nurses regarding genetics. Indeed, genetics education is two fold: through academic settings for evolving nurses and via continuing education for all others. Several nurse educators/researchers have offered enhanced education for faculty with the recognition that such preparation precedes curriculum integration of genetics information; see http://www.gpnf.org; http://www.fbr.org; and http://www.nih.gov/ninr/sgi.htm.

Preparing nurses to integrate genetics into practice is a health care challenge due to limited resources, constantly expanding scientific advances, and only a beginning perspective of what this information will mean for future health care. Recently approved recommendations of core competencies in genetics, essential for all health professionals, offer direction for continuing education programs; See Jenkins et al., (2001) and http://www.nchpeg.org, for details. Collaborative efforts at meeting education needs through this multidisciplinary organization may facilitate basic genetics understanding. Additionally, the scope and standards of genetics clinical nursing practice provide a broad description of genetics clinical practice for both basic and advanced levels of nursing (ISONG & ANA, 1998).

Advanced practice nurses will require further knowledge development such as that offered through professional organizations (see http://nursing.creighton.edu/isong) or offered in graduate programs (Williams, 1999).

Primary care givers, if insufficiently prepared may limit the successful access, utilization, and benefits of genetic information to available today. Ideally, nurses will seek out for themselves, and offer information to colleagues, so as to assure knowledge and competency in providing genetics care.

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References

International Society of Nurses in Genetics, Inc. and American Nurses Association. (1998). Statement on the scope and standards of genetics clinical nursing practice. Washington, D.C.: American Nurses Publishing.

Jenkins J., Blitzer M., Boehm K., Feetham S., Gettig E., Johnson A., Lapham V., Patenaude A., Reynolds P., & Guttmacher A., for the Core Competency Working Group of the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics. (2001). Recommendations of core competencies in genetics essential for all health professionals. Genetics in Medicine 3, 155-158.

Willaims, J.(1999). Evolution and current status of graduate programs in nursing genetics.Biological Research for Nursing, 1, 103-107.

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Letter by Allyson C. Fox

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