Reducing the Intimidation Factor of Teaching Genetics and Genomics in Nursing
Holly C. Mathis
Abstract
Background: Faculty-related barriers to increasing genetics and genomics content in undergraduate nursing education include knowledge deficits and a limited ability to embrace curricular changes. Method: Faculty members at one school of nursing participated in an educational program designed to address these barriers and reduce the intimidation of teaching a challenging topic. Participants' perceptions of changes in their knowledge and confidence, as well as the quantity of potential curricular threads identified by participants were used to evaluate the program. Results: All of the participants indicated the program increased their knowledge of genetics and genomics, and the majority (68.2%) of participants reported their confidence in developing curricular content also had increased. Participants identified numerous potential genetics and genomics-related curricular threads, especially regarding nurses' professional responsibilities. Conclusion: Faculty education shows promise as a strategy to increase knowledge, confidence, and ability to identify opportunities to increase genetics and genomics content in undergraduate nursing education. [ J Nurs Educ . 2022;61(5):261–263.]