Improved provider preparedness through an 8-part genetics and genomic education program

Area of Science:

• Medical Genetics
• Healthcare Education
• Genomic Medicine Implementation

Background:

• Genetics education for general practice providers is increasingly vital.
• Integrating genomic medicine into routine healthcare requires skilled professionals.
• Sanford Health identified a need for system-wide genetics training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the content and assess the impact of a mandatory genetics education program at Sanford Health.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a large-scale, web-based genetics training initiative.
• To determine if the program improved healthcare providers' preparedness in genetics.

Main Methods:

• A 2-year, quarterly web-based genetics education program was implemented for all physicians and advanced practice providers.
• Module completion was mandatory, with scores based on reported objective fulfillment (0-5).
• Participant preparedness was assessed using pre- and post-education surveys (7-item measure, 7-28 score).

Main Results:

• Between 2252 and 2822 employees completed each module.
• Highest module ratings were for genomics in patient management (mean=4.3).
• Mean preparedness scores significantly increased from 15.7 (pre) to 19.1 (post) (P < .001).

Conclusions:

• Web-based genetics education effectively boosted healthcare providers' confidence in using genetic information.
• Training significantly improved both personal knowledge and confidence in accessing genomic medicine experts.
• Scalable educational strategies are effective in enhancing provider preparedness for genomic medicine.