{"id":6786,"date":"2025-05-27T12:45:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T11:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/?p=6786"},"modified":"2026-03-10T11:20:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T11:20:46","slug":"giving-nurses-and-midwives-the-practical-genomics-knowledge-they-need-to-positively-impact-patient-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/giving-nurses-and-midwives-the-practical-genomics-knowledge-they-need-to-positively-impact-patient-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Giving nurses and midwives the practical genomics knowledge they need to positively impact patient care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Professor Aniko Varadi<\/a>, Director for the Centre for Research in Biosciences<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I lead the Generation Genome education team here at UWE Bristol. But my interest in genomics education goes back to 2012, to the launch of the 100,000 Genomes Project.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 100,000 Genomes Project was an English initiative to sequence and study the role our genes play in health and disease. Even now, even when you see how far the science has come, there is still untapped potential in genomics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you know the changes in the DNA sequence in a cancer, say breast cancer, you can identify its subtype. You can then look at how that subtype responds to different drugs. And, providing the drugs exist, you can select the best possible drug for an individual patient.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mainstreaming genomics\u202f<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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But genomics isn\u2019t just about identifying treatment options; you can predict what\u2019s going to happen in a family too. If one family member has, for example, colorectal cancer, and it turns out to be an inherited form, then we can do surveillance for the family members who have the same DNA variants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But all this depends on our NHS professionals having the genomics knowledge in the first place. At the moment, we have a knowledge gap; our nurses and midwives don\u2019t have genomics training. If they have training, when they gain genomics knowledge, they can use it to make a real difference to patients.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what excites us. Upskilling our health professionals with the genomic know-how they need to positively impact patient health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workforce training\u202f for our healthcare professionals\u202f<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

So, in collaboration with NHS England, Macmillan Cancer Support, the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Genomics England and the South West Genomic Laboratory Hub, we have created a competency framework for healthcare practitioners.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on this competency framework, we have developed a totally new education programme. It\u2019s the only fully validated PgCert in Genomics for nurses, midwifes and allied health professionals in England \u2013 and UWE Bristol is currently the only HE provider of genomic CPD aimed specifically for nurses and fully funded by NHS England. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better access to genomics for more patients\u202f<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For all of us in the team, it\u2019s about practically improving the knowledge of frontline NHS professionals. Helping them so they help more patients. As a result of training, many more patients are being tested. I\u2019ll give you a specific example. Lynch Syndrome (LS) is a condition that can run in families and can increase the risk of developing some cancers. So, it’s an inherited type. In one region one of our course participants led an LS clinic. In the past in that region 35-40% patients with LS were missed but with this new clinic in place all those eligible for LS genomic testing were referred for testing. So, we know that what we are doing has a huge impact. For patients, for services, for our nurses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing lives in many ways\u202f<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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We know we have changed lives. And, at a time when the NHS is so strapped for cash, if you can provide a better test quicker, then surely that\u2019s only a good thing. For everyone.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, we\u2019ve educated over 200 nurses, midwives, allied healthcare professionals, physios, even some GPs. My ambition is to increase that number tenfold. That\u2019s the ambition \u2013 and we always have very big ambitions here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Contribution to the UN 2030 sustainable development goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

UWE Bristol is proud to align our research to the UN sustainable development goals<\/a>. The above research aligns with the following goals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Professor Aniko Varadi, Director for the Centre for Research in Biosciences I lead the Generation Genome education team here at UWE Bristol. But my interest in genomics education goes back to 2012, to the launch of the 100,000 Genomes Project.\u202f\u202f  The 100,000 Genomes Project was an English initiative to sequence and study the role our … Continue reading “Giving nurses and midwives the practical genomics knowledge they need to positively impact patient care”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":7246,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1273,1403,1385,1,4],"tags":[11,42,62,74,75,226,76],"class_list":["post-6786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-experiments","category-projects","category-public-engagements","category-uncategorised","category-uwe-bristol-research","tag-bristol","tag-innovation","tag-research","tag-uwe","tag-uwe-bristol","tag-uwe-bristol-research","tag-uwe-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6786"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8380,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6786\/revisions\/8380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}