Berninger Taylor J, Rajagopalan Ramya M, Bloss Cinnamon S
Center for Empathy and Technology, T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, UC San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
Augustana-Sanford Genetic Counseling Graduate Program, Augustana University, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.
J Genet Couns. 2025 Feb;34(1):e1874. doi: 10.1002/jgc4.1874. Epub 2024 Feb 16.
There remains an urgent need for expanded genomics training in undergraduate medical education, especially as genetic and genomic assessments become increasingly important in primary care and routine clinical practice across specialties. Physician trainees continue to report feeling poorly prepared to provide effective consultation or interpretation of genomic test results. Here we report on the development, pilot implementation, and evaluation of an elective offering for pre-clinical medical students called the Sanford Precision Health Scholars Immersive Learning Experience (PHS), which was designed leveraging genetic counseling expertise as one means to address this need. This 9-week course, piloted in Fall 2021 at UC San Diego, afforded students the opportunity to build technical skills and competencies in clinical genomics while identifying, addressing, and engaging with pervasive health disparities in genomics. Interactive exercises focused students' learning on strategies for empathic and compassionate patient interactions while supporting the application of concepts and knowledge to future practice. Upon completion of the course, participants reported increases in confidence related to skills required for clinical genomics practice. Drawing on learnings from this pilot implementation, recommendations for refining the program include deepening pedagogical engagement with ethical issues, expanding the offering to trainees across health professions, including pharmacy students, and incorporating an optional experiential learning component. Educational offerings, like PHS, that are designed with the input of genetic counseling expertise may ease pressures on the genetic counseling profession by building a more genomic-literate healthcare workforce that can better support efforts to expand access for patients.
本科医学教育中对扩展基因组学培训仍有迫切需求，尤其是随着基因和基因组评估在初级保健以及各专业的常规临床实践中变得越来越重要。医师学员们持续报告称，他们感觉自己在提供有效的基因组检测结果咨询或解读方面准备不足。在此，我们报告一项针对临床前医学生的选修课程的开发、试点实施及评估情况，该课程名为桑福德精准健康学者沉浸式学习体验（PHS），其设计借助了遗传咨询专业知识，以此作为满足这一需求的一种方式。这门为期9周的课程于2021年秋季在加州大学圣地亚哥分校进行试点，让学生有机会培养临床基因组学方面的技术技能和能力，同时识别、解决并应对基因组学中普遍存在的健康差异问题。互动练习使学生的学习聚焦于共情和富有同情心的患者互动策略，同时支持将概念和知识应用于未来实践。课程结束后，参与者报告称与临床基因组学实践所需技能相关的信心有所增强。借鉴此次试点实施中的经验教训，完善该项目的建议包括加深对伦理问题的教学参与度，将课程扩展至包括药学专业学生在内的各健康专业的学员，并纳入一个可选的体验式学习环节。像PHS这样在遗传咨询专业知识的输入下设计的教育课程，通过培养一支基因组素养更高的医疗保健队伍，能够更好地支持为患者扩大就医机会的努力，从而减轻遗传咨询行业的压力。
