Creating and curating open educational resources (GeNotes) to support genomic medicine – a faculty, and curriculum development initiative
Creators: name: Jennings, Barbara
name: Kelly, Aine
name: Szczepanik, Charlotte
name: Frost, Amy
name: Bogue, Danielle
name: Tatton-Brown, Kate
name: National Genomics Education Programme, NHS England
Publisher: name: F1000 Research Limited
Year: 2024

description: Here is a link to the GeNotes project website https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/genotes/. More than 400 free, open-access resources have now been published to support the education of healthcare professionals. The concise information can help clinicians make the right genomic decisions at each stage of a clinical pathway and can contribute to faculty development and continuous professional development.<br>
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Abstract 1501 from AMEE Conference<br>
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<b>Background</b><br>
The genomic-medicine educator is tasked with training large numbers of undergraduates and clinicians about a rapidly developing field - as mainstream clinical practice adopts the use of DNA diagnostics, and personalised medicine.<b> </b>Expanding cohorts of learners, coupled with the need for just-in-time training opportunities for clinicians, are big drivers for the use of flexible, digital teaching resources. Online learning packages can wrap-around complex clinical rotations in medical school, and be used via digital patient management systems for CPD.<br>
<b>Summary of Work</b><br>
The Genomics Education Programme (GEP) is part of the UK NHS’ education and training body and launched the genomic-notes-for-clinicians (GeNotes) project in 2022. Initial aims were to establish expert working groups to create, curate, and update evidence-based digital resources; and to publish (and monitor engagement with) digital education resources. GeNotes align with other NHS systems, such as test directories and electronic records systems.<br>
<b>Summary of Results</b><br>
GeNotes provide case-based information focused on patient care called ‘In the Clinic’, underpinned by opportunities for background learning and CPD via the ‘Knowledge Hub’. Resource contents align with outcomes from a run-through genomics curriculum spanning all stages of clinical training, from undergraduate to expert. The GeNotes project has now published &gt;370 digital resources from eight of fourteen established working groups (including cardiology, fetal and women’s health, pharmacogenomics, and primary care). Uptake by users has increased every month; there had been &gt;250,000 webpage views by the end of 2023.<br>
<b>Discussion and Conclusion</b><br>
GeNotes are published as open-access digital resources to help healthcare professionals make the right genomics decisions at each stage of a clinical pathway, and to increase awareness of genomics within the NHS workforce.<br>
For undergraduate training, GeNotes and other GEP education resources, can be curated to support active learning in flipped classrooms, or for case-based-learning. They can be uploaded to virtual learning environments for stepwise online learning.<br>
<b>Take Home Message</b><br>
The GeNotes (https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/genotes/) initiative demonstrates that the agile development and publication of open access educational resources is feasible across a nation. The project presents a model of how to ensure that digital medical education is equitable, and sustainable, and could be applied to other specialties.