Neonatal nursing and the genetics revolution!

Discoveries from the Human Genome Project are having a significant impact on the way we look at genetic makeup, health, and disease. As a result of this new knowledge, changes will be made in how diseases are treated and how nurses work with patients and their families. The National Coalition for Health Professionals Education in Genetics was formed to strengthen baseline knowledge in genetics of nurses and other health professionals. For neonatal nurses, this is an extremely important area that will become more and more critical to care as genetics knowledge continues to rapidly expand. Neonatal nurses must be knowledgeable about genetics, genetic testing, and the use and possible misuse of genetic information. This article describes the impact of genetics on neonatal care.