Courses

The national Genomics Education Programme exists to build the knowledge, skills and experience required to ensure the English health service remains a world leader in genomic and precision medicine.

It provides a full range of educational resources and courses, from short films to a full Master’s degree. All of these can be found on their website. (opens in a new tab)

Genomics course for nurses and midwives: funded places now available - Genomics Education Programme (hee.nhs.uk) (opens in a new tab)

Genomic Medicine Masters Programme - postgraduate and CPPD courses

Commissioned by GEP, this programme offers postgraduate taught awards, as well as a range of individual taught modules which will count towards your continuing professional and personal development (CPPD). Training is suitable for:

• NHS professionals, including doctors, pharmacists, nurses and midwives
• Biotech and pharmaceutical professionals
• Scientists and researchers
• People interested in a career in healthcare

The programme is delivered by several organisations including the University of Cambridge and the University of Birmingham.

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Postgraduate courses include a Postgraduate Certificate, a Postgraduate Diploma as well as a Masters which can be taken either full time (MPhil) or part time (MSt). Modules from these courses can be taken individually for CPPD, or as part of an award.

Funding may be available for NHS staff to participate in the modules.

The Cambridge gateway to genetic counselling programme is designed for nurses and midwives.

The course can be used towards the educational components of the Set B criteria required for a senior nurse or midwife to be eligible to submit a Notification of Intention to Register.

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Developments in genomics within cancer diagnosis and treatment, familial cancer, pharmacogenomics, rare diseases, infectious diseases and complex disease all have the potential to impact on primary care. In addition, as the field of genomics advances, an increasing number of patients will be able to access testing in other ways, for example, by direct-to-consumer testing, through research programmes or from commercial companies.

They and their relatives will turn to primary care practitioners for discussion and advice on genomic tests and their results — a patient with results of a commercial genomic screen for example, or whose family member carries a pathogenic variant associated with cancer, or a mother wishing to discuss a neonatal screening test — will reach out to them for information.

Primary care practitioners will need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to communicate genomic information, understand the implications of the information, and institute appropriate management. The Genomics Education Programme (opens in a new tab) is a wealth of resources and education about genetics and genomics in medicine. It provides free online resources, guides, fact-sheets, CPPD training modules, and Master’s, Diploma, and Certificate award training.

GatewayC, funded by the NHS and The NHS Christie Foundation Trust, has partnered with Cancer Research UK and GEP to deliver a course on genomics in primary care (opens in a new tab). The one-hour e-learning module introduces genomics and its growing role in cancer prevention and treatment, offering guidance on effective patient communication and managing genetic risk levels.

The Genomics in the NHS programme is a collection of e-learning courses developed by NHS educational teams to support and educate healthcare professionals about genomic medicine and the benefit it will bring to patient care.
With the launch of the NHS Genomics Medicine Service in England, more healthcare professionals than ever before are likely to encounter genomics in their daily role. As it increasingly becomes a part of routine care, all healthcare professionals, not just those within specialist departments, will need some level of understanding of the impact genomics will have on the diagnosis, treatment and management of a wide variety of conditions.

The e-learning courses have been developed for those directly involved in the GMS and the wider healthcare workforce.