Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2013 Jul 23;8(7):e68853. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068853. Print 2013.
An emerging debate in academic medical centers is not about the need for providing trainees with fundamental education on genomics, but rather the most effective educational models that should be deployed. At Stanford School of Medicine, a novel hands-on genomics course was developed in 2010 that provided students the option to undergo personal genome testing as part of the course curriculum. We hypothesized that use of personal genome testing in the classroom would enhance the learning experience of students. No data currently exist on how such methods impact student learning; thus, we surveyed students before and after the course to determine its impact. We analyzed responses using paired statistics from the 31 medical and graduate students who completed both pre-course and post-course surveys. Participants were stratified by those who did (N = 23) or did not (N = 8) undergo personal genome testing. In reflecting on the experience, 83% of students who underwent testing stated that they were pleased with their decision compared to 12.5% of students who decided against testing (P = 0.00058). Seventy percent of those who underwent personal genome testing self-reported a better understanding of human genetics on the basis of having undergone testing. Further, students who underwent personal genome testing demonstrated an average 31% increase in pre- to post-course scores on knowledge questions (P = 3.5×10(-6)); this was significantly higher (P = 0.003) than students who did not undergo testing, who showed a non-significant improvement. Undergoing personal genome testing and using personal genotype data in the classroom enhanced students' self-reported and assessed knowledge of genomics, and did not appear to cause significant anxiety. At least for self-selected students, the incorporation of personal genome testing can be an effective educational tool to teach important concepts of clinical genomic testing.
学术医学中心出现的一个新争论不是关于是否需要为学员提供基因组学基础教育，而是应该采用哪种最有效的教育模式。斯坦福医学院于 2010 年开发了一门新颖的实践基因组学课程，为学生提供了作为课程一部分进行个人基因组测试的选择。我们假设在课堂上使用个人基因组测试会增强学生的学习体验。目前尚无关于此类方法如何影响学生学习的数据；因此，我们在课程前后对学生进行了调查，以确定其影响。我们使用完成了课前和课后调查的 31 名医学生和研究生的配对统计数据来分析回答。参与者分为进行了个人基因组测试的（N = 23）和未进行个人基因组测试的（N = 8）。在反思这一经历时，83%接受测试的学生表示他们对自己的决定感到满意，而 12.5%的未接受测试的学生表示不满意（P = 0.00058）。70%接受个人基因组测试的学生表示，他们通过测试对人类遗传学有了更好的理解。此外，接受个人基因组测试的学生在课前和课后的知识问题上的平均得分提高了 31%（P = 3.5×10(-6)）；这明显高于未接受测试的学生（P = 0.003），后者的得分没有显著提高。接受个人基因组测试并在课堂上使用个人基因型数据提高了学生自我报告和评估的基因组学知识，且似乎不会引起明显的焦虑。至少对于自我选择的学生来说，将个人基因组测试纳入教学可以成为教授临床基因组测试重要概念的有效教育工具。
