Striving for Precision: Enhancing Genetic Competency in Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Students

Area of Science:

• Genetics and Genomics
• Precision Medicine
• Primary Care Education

Background:

• Precision medicine leverages genetic makeup for individualized healthcare.
• Integrating genetics and genomics into primary care is challenging due to rapid advancements.
• Clinicians face barriers including insufficient knowledge, training, and resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of pediatric genetics clinical rotations for nurse practitioner students.
• To enhance students' genetic thinking skills and family health history collection.
• To improve students' understanding and utilization of genetic resources.

Main Methods:

• Three pediatric nurse practitioner students completed elective clinical rotations in pediatric genetics.
• Focus on developing "genetic thinking" for patient assessment.
• Emphasis on collecting three-generation family health histories.

Main Results:

• Students demonstrated improved genetic thinking skills post-rotation.
• Students became competent in collecting comprehensive family health histories.
• Students enhanced their ability to navigate and utilize genetic resources.

Conclusions:

• Genetics clinical rotations are effective for developing genetic and genomic competencies in primary care nurse practitioner education.
• This educational strategy addresses the need for improved genetic literacy in primary care.
• The findings support the integration of genetics education into advanced practice nursing programs.