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Genetics Nursing: In Preparation for a New Frontier

Since the mid-nineties genetics has been on the forefront of popular culture. With hit movies such as Multiplicity and The Island, genetics and human cloning has seemed like a plausible solution to many hereditary and non-hereditary diseases, as well as a cause for major uproar in several religious communities. While the ethics behind genetics testing continues to be a hot topic, the fact that this scientific frontier has changed the course of history, remains undeniable.

Will the healthcare population unite in a structure that supports the sharing of genetics information? Will the education system adapt to scientific advances when instructing our future healthcare providers? Will government officials agree on appropriate confidentiality laws for genetic information?

For now these questions will go unanswered.

Working together in genetics development
The current recession in nursing students still plagues the healthcare industry, however, this strain is being felt heavily in the genetics nursing specialty. Genetics science continues to develop faster than we are able to adapt, and many nurses today, are left feeling unprepared for patients’ questions and technological advances. Still, genetics nurses play a vital role in the facilitation of information and the fault of a lagging education system lies in the hands of an ill prepared society.

The development of DNA testing has created a tremendous need for healthcare professionals who can explain and interpret genetic information and integrate it into patient care. Currently, a genetics nurse identifies genetic risk factors, holds nursing interventions, and relays data to the individual or family seeking genetics information. An advanced practice genetics nurse further fulfills these responsibilities through the provision of genetic counseling and case management for those with, or at risk, for a disease resulting from a genetic susceptibility.

Nurses in genetics work with patients and their families in many settings such as:

• Specialty clinics where gene-based diagnoses and therapies are offered
• Prenatal and reproductive technology centers
• Cancer centers
• Primary healthcare settings
• Pediatric clinics
• Industrial health
• School health
• Research centers, Biotech and insurance industries

Demands, as well as technological advances, will be changing constantly so continual educational services will have to be readily available to genetics nurses. If the nursing community is unable to successful integrate biotechnology into their discipline, they will only be able to accept the medical interpretations and views of biotechnology, thus making them too dependent upon another source. The key to successful integration is education. Healthcare professionals must be prepared to work together across disciplines to keep pace with the rapidly changing environment of genetics information.

The light at the end of the long tunnel of genetics education is that by carrying the new roles of counselor, technician, care manager, and teacher for patients and their families, nurses will have the opportunity to expand as well as create new leadership roles in the healthcare industry.

Future implications in genetics testing
Genetics research hopes to develop a further understanding in the following areas:

1. New classifications for disease
2. Earlier disease detection
3. Increased opportunities for disease prevention
4. Development of better targeted, more effective and new treatments

A growing understanding of the genetic impact in common serious diseases are being made. This recognition is seen in diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, epilepsy, cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder.

This means all areas of nursing will feel the impact. This increased awareness of the contribution of genotype to disease indicates that genetics cannot be viewed in isolation, to be dealt with by specialist nurses.

Primary care and adult nursing settings will have to address the “genetic concerns” of a public who is being made increasingly aware of genetics issues. The nursing profession will have to demonstrate leadership in the debate over choices in the application of genetics technology as well as encourage public involvement in developing policies of concern to society. Nurses will need to educate themselves not only about the underpinnings of genetics, but also the ethical, legal and social issues for individuals, families and society facing decisions about genetics.

How to get there
With appropriate funding and allocation of resources, barriers to the integration and access to genomic healthcare services can be overcome. Federal and state legislation will need to protect the public from the possibility of discrimination in insurance coverage, billing codes and availability of services. Nurses will ultimately share with other healthcare professionals the responsibility to ensure equal access to genetic information and genomic healthcare services.

Though the path to scientific advancement is often a long and extensive course, nurses who thrive on the excitement of a better tomorrow will see genomic healthcare through. Pushing for a better education will be the first step in the many more to come.