Preaching to the Choir: Genetics Providers Must Break Out of Their Silos to Integrate Genomics in All of Medicine
Education and Research Strategies
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Primary Categories:
- General Education
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Secondary Categories:
- General Education
Introduction:
Over 1 in 200 individuals are affected by inherited cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of sudden death in young people. Genetic testing is critical for identifying those at-risk, but many patients are being missed. This problem is not unique to cardiology. While evidence-based guidelines supporting the use of genomics in medicine are increasingly available, uptake into the practice of non-genetic health professionals (NGHPs) remains a significant challenge. To fully integrate genetics and genomics into healthcare, NGHPs must be empowered to learn about and apply genetic knowledge in their practice. Despite the growing availability of genomic education for clinicians, effective dissemination to NGHPs continues to be difficult. This report describes dissemination of education about evidence-based genomic testing in cardiology practice.
Methods:
The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), Northwestern University, and the Augustana-Sanford Genetic Counseling Graduate Program developed a series of 3 self-directed CME/CNE courses. A marketing campaign was developed to promote the release of each module and the completion of the series to cardiology providers and genetics champions who could further disseminate to their personal networks. Multiple channels were used including the JAX Clinical Education email list, social media, and emails to personal contacts. Each marketing asset included a unique link to the course, which allowed for tracking performance of each asset. Based on historical marketing campaigns, our target goal was 40 enrollments per campaign.
Results:
From February 2023 through September 2024, 2,657 individuals engaged with marketing assets. Emails to personal contacts were the most effective method of dissemination, resulting in 933 people visiting the course landing page, and accounting for 35% of website traffic. Emails to the JAX Clinical Education mailing list led 505 people to the course landing page, followed by 340 people from LinkedIn posts.
A total of 669 individuals enrolled in the courses, leading to 825 unique enrollments and an average of 206 enrollments per campaign. Of those who enrolled in a course, 571 had a clinical background (85%), including 207 clinical trainees. The largest specialty group for practicing clinicians was genetics (24%), followed by cardiology (20%) and a combination of genetics and cardiology (9%). The largest profession group was genetic counselor (39%), followed by physician (36%) and nurse (9%). The largest profession group among clinical trainees was advance practice nurse (32%), followed by nurse (28%) and genetic counselor (18%). Enrollment data also suggested that the courses were assigned at 6 different training programs for physician assistants, nurses, or genetic counselors. Only 13% of individuals who enrolled in the course were practicing cardiology clinicians without a specialty or profession in genetics, which accounted for 114 enrollments.
Conclusion:
While the number of enrollments exceeded our initial goal, only 13% of learners were our target audience of NGHPs in cardiology practice. The high representation of genetics providers may reflect the limitations of our current networks, which are mostly confined to those already engaged in genomic medicine. As genetics experts, we often find ourselves in "silos" within our professional networks. This limits the reach of genomic education to non-genetics providers, who are essential for integrating genetics into mainstream healthcare practice. To fully integrate genetics into everyday healthcare, genetics providers must prioritize relationship building with non-genetics providers. These relationships are the key to expanding the reach of genomic education and empowering non-genetics providers to apply genetic knowledge in their care.
Over 1 in 200 individuals are affected by inherited cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of sudden death in young people. Genetic testing is critical for identifying those at-risk, but many patients are being missed. This problem is not unique to cardiology. While evidence-based guidelines supporting the use of genomics in medicine are increasingly available, uptake into the practice of non-genetic health professionals (NGHPs) remains a significant challenge. To fully integrate genetics and genomics into healthcare, NGHPs must be empowered to learn about and apply genetic knowledge in their practice. Despite the growing availability of genomic education for clinicians, effective dissemination to NGHPs continues to be difficult. This report describes dissemination of education about evidence-based genomic testing in cardiology practice.
Methods:
The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), Northwestern University, and the Augustana-Sanford Genetic Counseling Graduate Program developed a series of 3 self-directed CME/CNE courses. A marketing campaign was developed to promote the release of each module and the completion of the series to cardiology providers and genetics champions who could further disseminate to their personal networks. Multiple channels were used including the JAX Clinical Education email list, social media, and emails to personal contacts. Each marketing asset included a unique link to the course, which allowed for tracking performance of each asset. Based on historical marketing campaigns, our target goal was 40 enrollments per campaign.
Results:
From February 2023 through September 2024, 2,657 individuals engaged with marketing assets. Emails to personal contacts were the most effective method of dissemination, resulting in 933 people visiting the course landing page, and accounting for 35% of website traffic. Emails to the JAX Clinical Education mailing list led 505 people to the course landing page, followed by 340 people from LinkedIn posts.
A total of 669 individuals enrolled in the courses, leading to 825 unique enrollments and an average of 206 enrollments per campaign. Of those who enrolled in a course, 571 had a clinical background (85%), including 207 clinical trainees. The largest specialty group for practicing clinicians was genetics (24%), followed by cardiology (20%) and a combination of genetics and cardiology (9%). The largest profession group was genetic counselor (39%), followed by physician (36%) and nurse (9%). The largest profession group among clinical trainees was advance practice nurse (32%), followed by nurse (28%) and genetic counselor (18%). Enrollment data also suggested that the courses were assigned at 6 different training programs for physician assistants, nurses, or genetic counselors. Only 13% of individuals who enrolled in the course were practicing cardiology clinicians without a specialty or profession in genetics, which accounted for 114 enrollments.
Conclusion:
While the number of enrollments exceeded our initial goal, only 13% of learners were our target audience of NGHPs in cardiology practice. The high representation of genetics providers may reflect the limitations of our current networks, which are mostly confined to those already engaged in genomic medicine. As genetics experts, we often find ourselves in "silos" within our professional networks. This limits the reach of genomic education to non-genetics providers, who are essential for integrating genetics into mainstream healthcare practice. To fully integrate genetics into everyday healthcare, genetics providers must prioritize relationship building with non-genetics providers. These relationships are the key to expanding the reach of genomic education and empowering non-genetics providers to apply genetic knowledge in their care.