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A Toolkit for Developing Services Involving Genetics

This information is for those who are developing services for patients with or at risk of genetic conditions. 

Please note that this Toolkit is based on the collected experiences of service development initiatives in genetics and is not intended to be a complete guide to service development; you may also want to consult generic service development resources and expertise within your own organisation.

 

Providing Education for Health Professionals

Some of the pilot projects provided education for other health professionals. Where education is provided to support a service, they identified some key factors for success. Training for service staff is covered in section 2 - staffing issues and providing information about the service is covered in section 8 - communication.

  1. Use existing educational opportunities, networks and training forums
  2. Match training to the learning needs and interests of the learners
  3. Decide what topics and content to include
  4. Provide clinically relevant, active learning
  5. Make appropriate use of clinic experience or observation
  6. Evaluate the effectiveness of education
  7. Tips for organising educational sessions

 

1. Use existing educational opportunities, networks and training forums

  • Identify training networks for relevant professional groups.
  • Educational sessions provided within existing training programmes, networks or meeting are more likely to be attended than 'stand alone' events.
  • Plan well in advance as educational programmes may be arranged a year ahead.
  • Many health professionals may not be released from service for training other than mandatory training.

 

2. Match training to the learning needs and interests of the learners

  • Assess participants' educational needs. Always speak to someone from the relevant group. It may also be possible to assess confidence, knowledge and current skills, for example, by using a survey or questionnaire.
  • Regional genetics centre (RGCs) may be able to advise on target audiences.
  • Demonstrate the relevance of genetics - health professionals with competing agendas may not prioritise genetics unless they can see the relevance to their practice.

 

3. Decide what topics and content to include

  • Provide information on the service, its organisation, rationale and referral information.
  • Consider asking potential participants, for example by using a survey.
  • Work with speakers to identify relevant content and depth appropriate for the audience.
  • Draw on the expertise of geneticists to identify speakers, decide which topics to cover and identify target audiences.

 

4. Provide clinically relevant, active learning

Match training to existing curricula and learning objectives. Use cases to illustrate key points, demonstrate relevance and interest health professionals. Try visiting Telling Stories Understanding Real Life Genetics for patients' stories.

Use existing teaching resources rather than developing new ones and incorporate active learning into the training session. For example, discussing cases, observing relevant clinics, role play etc.

Consider the room and facilities when planning the type of educational delivery e.g. seminar, workshop or lecture.

 

5. Make appropriate use of clinic experience or observation

Observation of clinics may be useful in certain targeted cases. For example, Specialist Registrars coming into the genetics department for training may serve as a useful link between genetics and their speciality. Scheduling constraints may make observation impractical.

 

6. Evaluate the effectiveness of education

Use feedback forms to evaluate sessions.

Questions might include:

  • was the content relevant and appropriate
  • did the session meet your learning needs
  • did the session meet your expectations
  • will the session increase your competence / improve your practice?

 

Consider pre- and post- outcomes measures to demonstrate effectiveness, for example, referral rates.

Consider assessment:

  • Assess the impact of education on knowledge and clinical competence of healthcare professionals e.g. by interviews and questions, clinical observation or role play.
  • Assess performance against recognised workforce competences e.g. the Genetics Competences.

 

7. Tips for organising educational sessions

Setting up a training session can be very time consuming. Activities include designing flyers, promoting the sessions, administering the registration process, producing attendance lists, evaluation, liaising with speakers, collecting presentations, preparing and distributing handouts etc.

Consider the timing of courses:

  • avoid holidays
  • consider speaker availability
  • a minimum of six to eight weeks notice is needed for clinical staff to cancel clinics.

Consider the need to pay speakers an honorarium and cover travel expenses.  Also consider:

  • applying for CPD approval from relevant bodies - course content will be required in advance
  • whether a delegate pack and handouts will be required
  • how participants will register. If payment is required, how can it be made? Can cash payments be accepted?
  • attendance may vary on the day - some people will be unable to attend and others may turn up without having registered.

 

Examples of resources

The resources page provides examples of resources from previous service development initiatives.

 

 

Last updated: 13 October 2011

Genetics in Practice