Elsevier

Nurse Education Today

Volume 63, April 2018, Pages 12-17
Nurse Education Today

Nursing genetics and genomics: The International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG) survey

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2018.01.002Get rights and content

Highlights

  • ISONG nurses have received specialized genetic training and are critical to the advancement of genetics and genomics globally

  • Implementing critical genetics and genomics nursing practices will contribute to the growing movement toward precision health

  • ISONG members would be more likely to have already acquired advanced training in genetics and genomics

Abstract

Background

The International Society of Nursing in Genetics (ISONG) fosters scientific and professional development in the discovery, interpretation, and application of genomic information in nursing research, education, and clinical practice.

Objectives

Assess genomic-related activities of ISONG members in research, education and practice, and competencies to serve as global leaders in genomics.

Design

Cross-sectional survey (21-items) assessing genomic-related training, knowledge, and practice.

Settings

An email invitation included a link to the anonymous online survey.

Participants

All ISONG members (n = 350 globally) were invited to partake.

Methods

Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test for between-group comparisons.

Results

Respondents (n = 231, 66%), were mostly Caucasian, female, with a master's degree or higher. Approximately 70% wanted to incorporate genomics in research, teaching, and practice. More than half reported high genomic competency, and over 95% reported that genomics is relevant the next 5 years.

Conclusions

Findings provide a foundation for developing additional educational programs for an international nursing workforce in genomics.

Introduction

The National Institute of Health (NIH) defines genetics as the “study of genes and their roles in inheritance of disease,” while genomics involves “the study of all of a person's genes, including the interaction of genes with each other and with the environment” (National Institute of Health, 2016). The importance and relevance of genetics and genomics (hereafter genomics for both terms) in nursing research, education, and clinical practice are becoming increasingly evident (Calzone et al., 2010; Calzone et al., 2013a, Calzone et al., 2013b, Calzone et al., 2013c; Genomic Nursing State of the Science Advisory Panel et al., 2013; Kirk et al., 2011; Williams, 2015). Nurses work at the forefront of translational science and can develop, lead, and implement genomic-based innovations in research, education, and practice (Tully and Grady, 2015). However, nurses need training and confidence in engaging with genomic-based techniques before they can contribute to precision medicine.

Given the exponential increasing pace of genomic research, it remains difficult for many nurses to stay up to date with current science. A U.S. national survey of the nursing workforce, reported that 57% of nurses believed that their genomic knowledge base was fair or poor (Calzone et al., 2013a, Calzone et al., 2013b, Calzone et al., 2013c). This statistic speaks to the significant gap regarding the preparation of the nursing workforce for the future of personalized healthcare. With the advent of the Precision Medicine Initiative, genomic innovation and its application to clinical care, are at the forefront of moving healthcare from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to considering individual differences, environmental influences, and responses to treatment to optimize disease and symptom management. Nurses are critical members of the healthcare workforce and with appropriate education and training in genomics, are can engage in practice and research that greatly contributes to realizing the potential of precision medicine (Williams, 2015).

The International Society of Nursing in Genetics (ISONG), an international professional organization charged with fostering scientific and professional development in the discovery, interpretation, application, and management of genomic information for the health of people worldwide (International Society of Nurses in Genetics, 2010). ISONG membership spans multiple areas of professional expertise; for over 25 years, members have made significant contributions to genomic science through innovative research, translation of research findings into clinical practice and development of innovative training programs for future nurses (Alexander, 2015). By identifying obstacles in educating the nursing workforce in genomics, ISONG serves as a mechanism for additional training in genomic competencies through an annual international conference and multiple free webinars and other educational resources. Given that ISONG promotes engagement in genomic-related activities, we evaluated the extent that members are involved in such activities. The overall purpose of the study was to assess ISONG's contribution to the Precision Medicine Initiative by surveying its members about their genomic-related activities and their experiences regarding the integration of genomics in the nursing profession. The ultimate goal is identifying areas of research, education, and practice that merit improvement within ISONG and the nursing workforce.

Section snippets

Genomic Nursing Education

Nursing education needs to evolve in order to integrate state of the art genomic science, such as complex biostatistics methods, into nursing education, boost the application of research findings from bench to bedside, and the translation of this knowledge into areas of clinical importance. A core element of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Strategic Plan is the genomic education of nurses, and the integration of this knowledge into nursing science, so that nurses can spearhead

Methods

This is a prospective, cross-sectional, descriptive, web-based survey. The Columbia University Institutional Review Board (IRB # AAA01768) and the ISONG research board approved the study protocol; the latter also granted access to potential participants' email addresses. A disclaimer stated that this was an independent investigator-initiated study, explained its purpose and that participation was voluntary, and ensured confidentiality of responses. Participants' contact information was not

Results

Out of 350 ISONG members, 231 completed the survey (response rate 66%). Respondents were predominantly female (92.1%), Caucasian/White (91.7%), most between 40 and 65 years old (Table 1). Most (54.6%) held a PhD in nursing and another 35.8% held a master's degree. The majority (78.2%) was employed full-time; percent effort (%FTE) was almost equally divided in research, teaching, and clinical care. Participants with a doctorate in nursing spent a greater proportion of %FTE in research (two-sided

Discussion

This survey of ISONG members provides unique information about global practices of nurses in genomics. It was hypothesized that ISONG members would be more likely to have already acquired advanced training in genomics, and to incorporate this knowledge into many different areas of research, education, and clinical practice. Results suggested that ISONG members who participated in the survey had advanced degrees and additional training in genomics. Participants also reported that the integration

Conclusions

There is substantial evidence regarding the wide contribution of ISONG members to genomic research, education, clinical practice, and public health (Alexander, 2015; Andrews et al., 2010; Calzone et al., 2013a, Calzone et al., 2013b, Calzone et al., 2013c; Katapodi et al., 2017; Kirk et al., 2011; Musunuru et al., 2015; Hickey and Rezzadeh, 2013; Hickey et al., 2014a, Hickey et al., 2014b; Wung et al., 2013). The rapid incorporation of genomics on disease prevention, health promotion, disease

Conflicts of Interest and Sources of Funding

This work is not funded. The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

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