Evolution of the nursing role in genetics.

The role of the nurse in the delivery of genetic counseling services initially was developed by nurses working in multidisciplinary teams serving the developmentally disabled and mentally retarded. Both the characteristics of the role and the need for didactic content and clinical experiences were well articulated as early as the early to mid-1960s. Since that time, many nurses have published their interpretations of the role in light of their individual practice and the state of the art. The basic elements of case finding and referral, explaining the process of genetic evaluation and counseling to families, constructing a family pedigree, assisting the family in gathering records and documentation, clarifying genetic information, and providing long-term management assistance remain basically the same. What changes is the information available and the population to which the information may be applied. Prenatal diagnosis and the identification of individuals at risk for common disorders are two good examples of change based on emerging scientific information.