Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jul 16:15:1419302.
doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1419302. eCollection 2024.

Assessing genomics confidence and learning needs in Australian nurses and midwives: an educational program evaluation

Kim E Alexander  1   2 , Melanie Rolfe  1   2 , Michael T Gabbett  3
Affiliations

Assessing genomics confidence and learning needs in Australian nurses and midwives: an educational program evaluation

Kim E Alexander et al. Front Genet. .

Abstract

Introduction: The mainstreaming of genomics across healthcare specialties necessitates that all nurses and midwives have a high literacy in genomics. Methods: We aimed to design, develop, implement and evaluate a genomics education workshop for nurses and midwives using action research principles. Results: Registered nurses and midwives completed an online survey regarding genomics confidence and learning needs (n = 274). The results of this survey were used to develop the genomics education workshop. The workshop was run three times (n = 105) with evaluation data being collected both before and after each workshop. Significant improvements in confidence across all learning domains was found following the workshops (p < 0.001). A desire for more education across all learning domains except for genetics knowledge was also identified (p < 0.001). Discussion: Genomics education workshops were found to increase the confidence of nurses and midwives across a range of specialties. Nurses and midwives also expressed a desire for further education in genomics.

Keywords: confidence; genomics; health education; human genetics; learning needs; midwifery; nursing; professional education.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Overview of Workshop Development and Evaluation.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Overview of Workshop Content.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Confidence in Applying Genomics Knowledge.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Self-Identified Learning Needs.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Key Lessons Learnt.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Allied health professions australia (2022). Genetic counselling. Available at: https://ahpa.com.au/allied-health-professions/genetic-counselling/.
    1. American association of colleges of nursing (2020). The essentials: core competencies for professional nursing education. Available at: https://www.aacnnursing.org/portals/42/downloads/essentials/essentials-d....
    1. Barr J. A., Tsai L. P., Welch A., Faradz S. M. H., Lane-Krebs K., Howie V., et al. (2018). Current practice for genetic counselling by nurses: an integrative review. Int. J. Nurs. Pract. 24, e12629. 10.1111/ijn.12629 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Birks M., Ralph N., Cant R., Hillman E., Tie Y. C. (2015). Teaching science content in nursing programs in Australia: a cross-sectional survey of academics. BMC Nurs. 14, 24. 10.1186/s12912-015-0074-x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Calzone K. A., Jenkins J., Yates J., Cusack G., Wallen G. R., Liewehr D. J., et al. (2012). Survey of nursing integration of genomics into nursing practice. J. Nurs. Scholarsh. 44, 428–436. 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2012.01475.x - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources