A special issue of the Journal of Nursing Scholarship looks at how advances in genomics are, and will, affect clinical nursing. "Nurses play a role in creating an infrastructure that supports the delivery of services that utilize genomic information. They can also influence policies related to the utilization of genomic information through appreciation of the associated ethical, legal, and social issues," write National Human Genome Research Institute Director Eric Green and his colleagues in an editorial. "With a full understanding of the relevance as well as limitations of genomic information, nurses can play an important role in the application of genomics to clinical care."
The articles included in the issue run the gamut from discussing newborn screening and how nurses can educate patients about such programs to the state of knowledge about the role genetics plays in autism spectrum disorders or in cardiovascular disease. "The purpose of this Genomics Issue is to provide evidence reviews about the genomics of common healthcare conditions relevant to nursing practice," adds Kathleen Calzone, from the National Cancer Institute, in a statement.