Genomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genomics - Essay Example Because of the role that genomics has been proven to play in disease, modern nurses commonly are responsible for eliciting at least three generations from patients (Consensus, 2008). Nurses play a critical role in assessment of this information for use in preventative care, prognostics, selection of treatment, and treatment evaluation, necessitating firm understanding of genomic principles. Nurses are an essential educational resource for patients unaware of genomic technologies. Nurses also serve as advocates for clients that may benefit from genomic services and for the rights of those clients to make autonomous, informed genomic and genetic based decisions. As part of the nursing assessment, genomics allows a nurse to establish risk factors based on family history of disease. Perhaps more importantly, however, the nursing assessment should include patient attitude and knowledge of genetic and genomic technologies that may be beneficial. This assessment will also allow other health care professionals to interact more effectively with the patients by understanding their biopsychosocial views and is critical in allowing patients to make informed decisions based on these new technologies.