The Role of Nurses in Medical Genetic

Abstract

In recent years medical geneticists have made tremendous advences in understanding hereditary diseases. Scientific knowledge in the field of clinical genetics is increased rapidly. As diseases of genetic origin have increased their impact on social health, nursing's role has also increased. Many parents with potential genetic conditions are leaving clinics and hospitals without the conditions being recognized. Nurses knowledgeable in genetics can chance this by using skills in genetic history-taking and dysmorphology assessment to recognize signs of genetic conditions and birth defects. Nurses can also positively impact parent's health by participating in follow care after a genetic evaluation and counselling. Nursing educators must ask themselves; 1. What effects to these advances have on nursing practise, 2. Have the subjects of human genetics and bioethics been sufficiently integrated into nursing educational programs. 3. Are professional nurses prepared to help patients become secientificalley literate relative to principles of human genetics? We recommend that continuing education programs in human genetics be implemented with the goal of providing al practicing nurses with a better understanding of the genetic basis of diseases thereby enabling them to counsel wisely those patients and rusted to their care.