Molecular genetics in pediatric training: how much do we really know?

A questionnaire was designed to assess the degree of knowledge among 44 residents and medical students in a pediatric residency program about recent advances in medical genetics. The mean score was 40% (4 correct answers per individual). There were no significant differences among the groups. The mean number of correct responses to each question was 13, but topics that had been highly publicized, especially in the lay press, were associated with more correct answers. Among residents and medical students, knowledge of the exact genetic defects of inherited diseases and their implications at the molecular and clinical levels may be limited.