Integrating Genomic Professional Skills Into Nursing Practice: Results From a Large Cohort of Israeli Nurses

Purpose: To explore the association of genomic knowledge, self-epistemic authority (SEA; i.e., subjective perception of knowledge expertise), perceived importance of genomics in nursing, and the integration of genomic skills into nursing practice. Design: A cross-sectional study of nurses working in pediatric, obstetric, and internal wards of two medical centers in Israel between February and October 2018. Methods: Participants completed anonymous questionnaires about genomic knowledge, SEA, perceived importance of genomics, and the performance of genomic skills in nursing practice. Associations between variables were analyzed using Pearson correlations, and a hierarchical regression model was used to determine which variables explained the performance of genomic practices among participants. Findings: Altogether 423 nurses participated in the study. The mean genomic knowledge was low (55.05 ± 14.82%). Nurses reported a low integration of genomic skills in their practice (M = 1.90, SD = 0.71), although their overall perceived importance of genomics was positive (M = 2.88, SD = 0.68). Positive correlations were found between SEA and the integration of genomic skills in nursing practice. Obstetric nurses had more genomic knowledge, more positive perceptions about genomics, and performed more genomic skills in their nursing practice. Conclusions: Although nurses realized the importance of genomics to their practice, and genomics is part of the Israeli nursing core curriculum, we found disappointingly low levels of knowledge and performance of genomic skills in nursing practice. Clinical Relevance: The results call for action to establish ongoing education programs in genomics for nurses, which would lead to the inclusion of genomic skills into routine nursing practice, and prepare nurses for providing personalized medicine.