Genetic Education Program

July 27-Nov. 30, 2012; orientation begins July 23, 2012 - $1200

Jan. 18-May 17, 2013; orientation begins Jan. 13, 2013 - $1300

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (OH-046 / 9-1-2015) is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Ohio Nurses Association (OBN-001-91), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

The presenters have declared no conflict of interest related to this program. There is no commercial support or sponsorship for this program.

Carol Hetteberg, MSN, RN
WBGI Primary instructor / facilitator
Education Specialist, Division of Human Genetics,
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio

Carol has taught/facilitated the WBGI and Applying Genomics to Nursing Practice online courses since their inception in 2002 and 2008, respectively. She has experience with online course development and testing, and was a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing for eight years. She has been involved in teaching genetics in clinical and didactic nursing courses for more than 15 years.

Robert J. Hopkin, MD
WBGI Module 2 instructor / facilitator:
Director of Genetics Residency Programs, Division of Human Genetics
Associate Professor Clinical Pediatrics,
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio

Rob has taught/facilitated the WBGI Module 2, “Overview of Clinical Genetics” since 2002. He has been involved in teaching medical students, residents, genetic counseling graduate students and nursing students about genetics for more than 15 years. He has been the director of the genetics residency programs at Cincinnati Children’s since 2006 and is a member of the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics (APHMG) and the Residency Program Directors Group (affiliated with APHMG).

Cincinnati Children’s will award a total of 172.1 contact hours to nurses upon the successful completion of all required WBGI learning assignments and evaluations. If nurses are unable to complete the entire WBGI, contact hours will be awarded to those who participate in an entire module and complete the module evaluation.

Module specific contact hours will be awarded as follows:

• Module 1: Basic Human and Molecular Genetics - 76.3 contact hours
• Module 2: Overview of Clinical Genetics - 48.1 contact hours
• Module 3: Genetics Nursing Today - 47.7 contact hours

Content & Learning Experience:

• “In all my doctoral education, I would have to say this course has had the most impact.”
• "...will help me to inform others, both nursing students and laypersons of the genetic concepts that are so vital for them to know...another valuable aspect of the course--the fact that you have shown us how to stay up-to-date on the information."
• "I believe I can take the information I have learned and better educate patients on issues they have related to genetics. Most importantly, I understand the material better and also have better understanding of what the basic oncology nurse should know about genetics and cancer and also other genetic disorders."
• "I was looking for information on the newer genetic testing strategies for newborns and came to realize so much more: the value of pedigrees and family histories, the complexities of obtaining those, cultural variations in genetics and in patterns of seeking health care, internet resources, great textbooks (I was surprised that nurse authors could grasp so much of this field and explain it so well via written format), and all you students and instructors."
• "I think the WBGI offers a broad-based opportunity for healthcare professionals to develop knowledge about the science of genetics, genetic testing that is available, and importance of utilizing genetic professionals when screening or counseling is conducted. It was a great "jumping off" point for me. I feel that I have the essentials to continue my own education and professional advancement."
• "…one of the most valuable learning experiences that I have participated in since graduating from my Masters degree program."
• "…terrific and far exceeded my expectations."
• "I have a new found enthusiasm and appreciation for education because of the master educators I have been exposed to at the WBGI."
• "When I applied for this course last fall I never dreamed it could have been this good!"
• "This has been an amazing experience! Challenging and demanding but incredibly rewarding."
• "I learned far far more than I ever dreamed possible."
•  “I came in with admittedly little knowledge of genetics, and left with an understanding of important basic concepts, experience in applying the concepts, and a multitude of ideas for sharing the knowledge with the nurses of tomorrow. “
• “I’ve had genetics courses in graduate school and have done much reading on cancer genetics since entering the field 20+ years ago. However, this course provided me with in-depth understanding of genetics. In addition to the biological concepts/content, the modules addressed the very important ethical/moral/legal and psychosocial issues paramount to a thorough understanding and appreciation of genetics.”

Online Learning:

• “For a Blackboard neophyte, like me, the directions were clear and the willingness to give assistance encouraging.”
• “Like everyone else, I learned far more from this course than I thought possible. I have been very impressed with how well the web-based format works and how it has exposed us to the web resources available.”
• “I was skeptical that one could really learn on-line and now I’ve become a believer… Unlike attending a CEU conference, one cannot be a passive learner with this type of format.”
• “Genetics CAN be learned in an online format. I wondered about that but am pleased to report that with the creativity and warmth of the WBGI faculty, this was entirely possible and enjoyable.”
• "I must admit that when I paid the fee for this course, I did think it was high and wondered if it could ‘give me my money’s worth.’ It did and more. This was my first successfully completed online course, so that barrier has also been overcome."

Textbooks

WBGI participants must purchase two textbooks:

Clinical Genetics in Nursing Practice, 3rd Edition
Felissa R. Lashley, RN, PhD, FAAN
Price: $85.95 (approximate)
Pub Date: 04/2005
ISBN: 082612366X
Published by Springer Publishing

Human Heredity: Principles and Issues, 9th Edition 
Michael Cummings
Price: $180 (approximate)
Date Published: 2011 / 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-538-49882-1
ISBN-10: 0-538-49882-X
Published by Brooks / Cole
There are e-versions of this text, and you can rent it online.

Refunds

If you must withdraw from the WBGI, you may receive a refund depending on the number of class weeks that have passed:

• Week 1 - 75% of registration fee refunded
• Week 2 - 50% of registration fee will be refunded
• Week 3 - 25% of registration fee will be refunded
• Week 4 - Week 18 - no refund of registration fee
  

(Please note: depending on availability, participants who do not receive a refund may resume the WBGI during the next session at the beginning of the uncompleted module(s) at no additional cost.)

To participate in the GEPN Web-Based Genetics Institute, offered through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, participants’ computers must meet specific requirements:

• 120 MHZ Intel Pentium processor 64 MB of RAM 
• At least a modem: 56 kbps (Network card and broadband or high speed internet connection is preferred) 
• Sound card: 16 bit card and speakers 
• 65,000 color video display card 
• Javascript and Cookies must be enabled in order to use all the features in Blackboard 
• Email access 
• Please verify that you computer has Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Flash.

Blackboard currently recommends the following browsers for use with the Blackboard software. Use of browsers not listed in this email may result in decreased functionality:

• For Windows Computers Running Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP: 
  • Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0 or higher
    (To check your browser version, open your browser click Help and then About Internet Explorer. If you do not have at least Version 6.0, you can download it from http://www.microsoft.com.)
  • Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or higher
    (To check your browser version, click Help and then About Firefox. If you do not have at least Version 1.5, you can download it from http://www.getfirefox.com.)
• For Macintosh Computers Running OS X 10.3 or later:
• Safari 1.2 or higher
  (To check your browser version, click Safari then About Safari . If you do not have at least Version 1.2, you can download through the OSX update utility or from http://www.apple.com.)
• Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or higher
  (To check your browser version, click Firefox then About Mozilla Firefox. If you do not at least have Version 1.5, you can download it from http://www.getfirefox.com.)