Improve Patient Care and Elevate Clinical Practice Through Pharmacogenomics

Personalized medical treatment based on a patient’s genetic makeup could improve outcomes, and pharmacogenomics is one area of precision healthcare that is garnering much attention. Pharmacogenomics involves developing and prescribing safe and effective medications that are tailored to the patient’s genetic profile. It is important for medical-surgical nurses to understand the potential for pharmacogenomics to revolutionize clinical care.

During an Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) webinar on Jan. 31, “Pharmacogenomics: Transforming Patient Care,” Dennis J. Cheek, RN, Ph.D., FAHA, Abell-Hanger professor of gerontological nursing at Texas Christian University’s Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, will explain the basics of pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenomics testing, how pharmacotherapeutics are being used, and their impact on clinical practice. He will discuss the role of medical-surgical nurses in pharmacogenomics research, therapeutics, and patient care.

“Since completion of the Human Genome Project, there has been a large push into what this means for clinical practice and the patient,” Cheek says. He stresses the importance of medical-surgical nurses attending the webinar to increase their knowledge of pharmacogenomics. “Their knowledge of pharmacology will be impacted, not only dealing with traditional drug administration, absorption, distribution, metabolism/biotransformation, and elimination but also what underlying genetics may impact the drug-gene interaction,” Cheek explains.

Of the medical-surgical nurses who attend the webinar and complete the evaluation, 65% are expected to learn at least one new thing about pharmacogenomics and how this new knowledge affects patient care delivery. Cheek says, “I truly believe that the days of trial-and-error medication administration is in the past and that pharmacogenomics is here to improve drug efficacy and reduce adverse drug reactions — and nurses are at the frontline.”

The webinar recording is available to AMSN members for $10 and non-members for $20.