A Genetics Web Site for PA Faculty and Students

Constance Goldgar, MS, PA-C
Director at Large

For those members who were fortunate enough to be able to attend the plenary session given by Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), during the PAEA Annual Education Forum in Tucson this past year, it will come as no surprise that genomics is advancing at an even more rapid pace than he predicted when he and other NHGRI staff first met with the four physician assistant (PA) organizations in March 2007. At that time, Dr. Collins noted that “The physician assistant community is poised to use the power of the human genome to make a difference in public health by bringing genomics into practice.” As someone who has been involved in genetics education for some time, I would like to say that it has been an honor for the PA community to begin to respond to his charge. The excitement generated by the March meeting, followed by Dr. Collins’s plenary session in Tucson, justifies his confidence that the PA profession has a significant role to play in advancing the application of genomics (and genetics) in daily clinical practice. Let me add that this task is probably more daunting to PA faculty than to the students they teach.

Alan Guttmacher, MD, deputy director of NHGRI who also attended the four organization genomics meeting, observed:

“Genomics will change medicine by creating a fundamental understanding of the biology of many diseases, even many “non-genetic” ones; leading to defining disorders by biology of causation, rather than by symptoms; and providing knowledge of individual genetic predispositions via microarray and other technologies. Genomics will help enable health care providers to treat patients based as the biological individuals they each are.”

Recognizing that the myriad of advances in these areas will affect health care in ways that we have only begun to imagine, there is a clear need to strengthen training in genetics/genomics in our programs and anticipate the need for continuous self-directed learning for faculty as well as clinicians.

During the past year, before my term as director at large became effective, I served as PAEA liaison to the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG). This was an exhilarating and intense learning experience. In 2007, with grant support from NCHPEG and the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), a group of PA educators (two PA genetic counselors and I) developed an interactive, case-driven, genetics educational Web site titled “Genetics in PA Practice.” The site was designed to be used by practicing PAs, as well as PA students and educators and was introduced to AAPA members last June and to PA educators last October in Tucson.

The site features three clinical case scenarios that reflect common PA practice settings and situations and a set of core genetics competencies to guide the site's content. The cases are presented in a step-by-step approach that models a typical patient encounter and demonstrates the physician-PA relationship, communication and delegation skills, and patient-centered teams. The cases also model clinical problem solving by including all appropriate differential diagnoses and justifications for ruling them in or out. Additional components of the site complement the cases and introduce stand-alone genetic competencies — e.g., a genetics primer, a module on genetics testing, family history exercises, and teaching tools with links to other resources. AAPA members have the additional incentive of earning up to three hours of Category I CME credit. Each set of three cases that are completed, with a posttest, is worth one hour’s credit. A link to access credit appears on the site.

We are inviting PA educators to acquaint themselves and their students with the Web site in the hopes that it may complement the genetics curricula implemented at their programs. The site has been well received thus far and has been used by clinicians, students, and a few educators. The other site developers and I welcome all constructive feedback and have provided two links on the Web site to encourage you to contact us. See the link to a NCHPEG evaluation site at the end of the third case; an AAPA evaluation may be completed at the conclusion of the cases for those accessing the CME options.