Teaching Genetics to Health Professionals
March 8th, 2013 by robertnThis week saw the second day of our ‘Teaching Genetics to Healthcare Professionals’ course for Specialty Registrars in Clinical Genetics.
The aim of the ‘Teaching Genetics to Healthcare Professionals’ course is for trainers and educators of health professionals shared innovative practices to teach health professionals genetics and genomics. When the group of Clinical Genetics SpRs had previously met they had been introduced to the theories underpinning personal learning styles, the principles of adult learning and the factors to consider when planning a teaching session.
The second day began with participants reporting on a teaching session that they had recently carried out. They were able to discuss the teaching methods that they had employed and highlight any problems that they had encountered. Constructive peer feedback was then provided by the group.
During the rest of the day, there was a focus on engaging and interacting with an audience when teaching genetics. Key areas included:
- Teaching in small and large groups
- Using language appropriately to avoid misconceptions
- Sequencing information
- Asking questions
- Teaching genetics in the clinic setting
In the afternoon session, ‘Bringing the clinic to the classroom’ group members were shown how to develop their own multimedia resources to teach genetics. Participants agreed that when used appropriately, these multimedia resources are a powerful tool to engage an audience of health professionals.
The course evaluated very well with the participants. As one reported:
“It was great. All the handouts and resources are fantastic. I am going back to my department to tell them all about this!”
