GeNotes: genomic notes for clinicians
GeNotes aims to help clinicians make the right genomics decisions at each stage of a clinical pathway
About GeNotes
GeNotes – genomic notes for clinicians – is a ‘just in time’ educational resource for healthcare professionals, designed to be used in a clinical setting.
Subject matter experts across the NHS are working in collaboration with NHS England’s Genomics Education Programme to develop this resource.
With content available in two ‘tiers’, GeNotes provides clinicians with educational information at the point of need, with opportunities for extended learning.
In the Clinic
Tier 1, or In the Clinic, articles are centred around the point of patient care and feature a clinical scenario. They comprise two types of resources: one for the presentation/testing stage, and another for the results stage.
The testing resources are aligned to the National Genomic Test Directory and are designed to a template where the clinician can first ‘locate’ themselves through a generic clinical scenario, then check whether their patient is eligible for testing, and then access information on how to request testing.
The results-focused resources educate a clinician about the different types of results that may be returned and how these should or could be actioned: clinically actionable; variants of uncertain significance; no clinically actionable variant identified; and incidental findings.
In the Clinic articles are typically text-based, following a set template, and written as concisely as possible to allow for quick, efficient learning either before or during a clinic appointment.
Knowledge Hub
Tier 2, or the Knowledge Hub, acts as an encyclopaedia of resources that can be accessed either via a link embedded in tier 1 or independently.
There are different types of resources within the Knowledge Hub, including resources around conditions, genes, inheritance patterns, genomic technologies, communication resources, and the GMSA/GLH structure. These resources have a flexible structure that can feature a range of different media including text, images, narrated slide decks, infographics, filmed interviews and animations.
For those who have previously undertaken a MOOC (massive open online course) on FutureLearn, the Knowledge Hub can be seen as a ‘muddled-up MOOC’, where the individual learner can chart a bespoke learning journey reflecting their educational requirements and interests.
GeNotes is also designed to link to external resources. It signposts to management guidelines (including NICE), external educational resources and curricula, as well as resources for clinicians to share with their patients.
How to develop a GeNotes resource
If you are interested in developing a resource for GeNotes that can be shared nationally, please follow these steps.