An interprofessional approach to teaching genetics in an undergraduate nursing curriculum

Background

Precision health is rapidly becoming a means to individualized approaches to managing health and thus necessitating a nursing workforce with an understanding of genomics and genetics. However, today's nurse in has limited knowledge in precision health, impacting the ability to educate patients and families.

Method

To address this gap, an interprofessional PhD-prepared faculty team comprised of a nurse educator and a molecular biologist developed an undergraduate genetics course. The multiple teaching strategies include active learning modules, problem-based learning and a final debate.

Results

The teaching methods were augmented multiple times based on student feedback. The debate activity replaced a poster assignment and student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Conclusion

Multiple strategies were used to deliver genomics and genetics content to nursing students that culminate in application-based activities such as case studies and the debate activity have potential to broaden student perspectives. Prospective course changes include increasing the credits for the course, adding time during the debate for rebuttal development and inviting speakers.