We have all seen the advertisement on television or heard them on the radio. Swab your cheek, send us your DNA, and we will let you know your ancestry and where you came from. Many have taken advantage of this offer, and some have been surprised at the outcome. Others have taken advantage of even more comprehensive testing by having their genome sequenced or receiving gene profiles.
But this leads to a number of questions: What is the reliability of these tests? Who is assuring that the laboratories that are performing these tests are reputable and can provide clinical validity for each test performed?
While the analytic validity of these tests has been regarded as positive1, the need for oversight of these providers is paramount as these tests become more popular and more laboratories enter the industry. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration currently share responsibility for oversight of clinical laboratories including genetic testing, although this is inadequate to guarantee the level of quality needed for these important genetic tests.
Even in the most reliable laboratory settings, patients and families are provided with information they may be unable to understand or know how to deal with. The need for highly skilled providers with the knowledge and experience to assist patients in understanding the results, the impact, and the use of genetic tests that they can have cannot be overemphasized.
The Institute is responding to this opportunity by launching a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling starting in fall 2019. This exciting educational option will join a small number of programs around the country that prepare individuals to work as genetic counselors in myriad settings including inpatient care facilities, clinics, corporations, government, and laboratories. Adding a focused program on genetics and genomics will provide another area of expertise on which all our students can capitalize as they prepare for professional practice.
In the last 20 years, an understanding of genetics and genomics has been a core competency for all health care providers. Patients and the health care system benefit from the many advances in genetics and genomics in areas including disease prevention, testing, diagnosis, treatments, and rehabilitation. All health care providers, armed with a basic understanding of the genetic and genomic changes associated with common diseases, have the potential to improve the identification of individuals at risk for health problems, target risk-reducing interventions, enhance existing screening, improve prognostic and treatment choices, develop individualized therapy, and influence treatment dosing and selection based on genetic variations that influence drug response2.
At the IHP, we prepare students to translate knowledge into practice. By adding genetic counseling to our suite of academic programs, we will improve our ability to prepare health care providers who have a broad, deep, and comprehensive understanding of the patients they encounter and the knowledge and skills to improve care.
1. Hunter, D; Khoury, M; Drazen, J; Letting the genome out of the bottle--will we get our wish? New England Journal of Medicine 2008; 358:105-107.
2. Calzone, K; Cashion, A; Feetham, S; Jenkins, J; Prows, C; Williams, J; Wung, SF, Nurses transforming health care using genetics and genomics. Nursing Outlook 2010 Jan; 58(1): 26–35.