Patient-based genetics scenarios for dietitians: their use for raising awareness and genetics education
Purpose: In the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), dietary advice and therapy for patients is provided by dietitians. In contrast to the traditional genetics education needs of most clinical health professionals, such as risk assessments for chromosomal and single gene disorders, dietitians need an understanding of gene-environment interactions in the clinical setting.
A genetics education strategy for dietitians, including the development of genetic competences to inform pre-registration training, has been developed by the NHS National Genetics Education and Development Centre (NGEDC). This has included exploration of effective ways to raise the genetic awareness of UK dietitians and determine their current genetics-related knowledge, skills and attitudes.
Methods: The present and future impact of genetics on dietitians’ work, and methods of raising genetics awareness, were explored with dietitian representatives at a scoping meeting in December 2005.
Results: The interaction of nutrients and genes and nutrigenetic testing were identified by participants as key educational topics for the future. To ensure the relevance of genetics education and ground it in clinical practice, patient-based scenarios were identified as an appropriate educational tool.
Scenarios on topics including obesity, coeliac disease, medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) and interpretation of nutrigenetic test results will be produced by small working groups and interspersed with questions to engage participants and deepen learning.
Conclusions: Experts have identified a set of relevant clinical topics to illustrate genetics in dietetics practice. The clinical scenarios will be used at continuing professional development events to illustrate the relevance of genetics to current dietetic practice. Audience responses, recorded using an electronic voting system, will provide information on which to base future genetics education for dietitians.
www.geneticseducation.nhs.uk