Frequent Questions
I am a nurse who is very interested in genetics but I do not hold a nursing faculty position. Can I register for the WBGI?
We appreciate your interest in the Web-Based Genetics Institute (WBGI). The WBGI is now open to any nurse or faculty of a nursing school. The class size is limited to approximately 20. Early enrollment is recommended.
Other genetics educational opportunities for nurses do exist. The National Institute of Nursing Research offers an eight week Summer Genetics Institute for a broader range of nurses. The International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG) provides an annual educational fall meeting open to all nurses interested in genetics. Graduate programs also exist for nurses interested in a clinical or research focus in genetics nursing. Contact information for these programs can be obtained from the ISONG Web site.
I have used the video, Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Risk: It's Your Choice, and have found it helpful in generating student discussions. A real plus is that it is free. I see it is listed in your Curriculum Resources section. Why wasn't it reviewed by past faculty?
There are several reasons why particular curriculum resources were not reviewed for the purpose of generating ratings. The video, Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Risk: It's Your Choice and other excellent videos such as Promise and Perils of Biotechnology: Genetic Testing do not have ratings because they were used as instructional tools for one or more past GSI sessions. For continuing education certificate purposes, participants evaluated the individual sessions and speakers but not the videos. Each year the curriculum resource collection grows so that no one faculty can review all resources during the GSI session, "Evaluation of Educational Resources". It was during this session that nursing faculty participants were given the opportunity to evaluate a wide variety of genetics educational resources. They completed a brief evaluation form for each resource that they reviewed during the session. Ratings were only posted for resources that had received written reviews by six or more faculty. Resources obtained in 1999 were less likely to be reviewed by six or more faculty than resources that were obtained in 1997 and 1998.
Because of the growing collection of resources and the limited amount of scheduled time specifically for reviewing resources, 1999 participants were able to sign out and independently review resources throughout the GSI. We did not request completion of evaluation tools for independently reviewed resources. We will request this for future GSIs.
You can help us build our list of Frequently Asked Questions. Please send your suggestions to gepn@cchmc.org.
Jo Ann Monday, Program Coordinator
Phone: 513-636-0123
Toll-free: 800-344-2462 extension 60123
Fax: 513-636-0124
Email: gepn@cchmc.org
