Genomic Practice for Genetic Counselling

This is the ninth in the Wellcome Genome Campus' series of courses on genetic counselling. This course aims to meet the training needs of genetic counsellors as they upskill in response to the roll-out of genomic sequencing in the clinic. This year’s course will focus on the practical applications of genomics with several ‘hands-on’ workshop sessions.

The programme will focus on the fundamental aspects of genomics and bioinformatics that underpin clinical practice. There will be a particular emphasis on learning how to do variant interpretation. For example, the course include several hands-on sessions that will focus on the use of the DECIPHER database, and the identification of variants in cancer and cardiac disorders. Attendees will have the opportunity to work with sequence data and explore how it is created, analysed and delivered. The course will include discussions on the role of genomics in healthcare and the role of genetic counselling in how genomic healthcare is delivered.

Jon Roberts, one of our Clinical Content Developers, will be speaking at the event.

Who's the course for?

The course is suitable for genetic counsellors practising in the UK or internationally. We also welcome applications from nurses or clinicians delivering genetic healthcare. Previous participants may wish to return to this course as the focus on practical application will enable them to develop their skills further. The course has been designed to be relevant for use by genetic counsellors in the UK and Ireland in their GCRB registration.

To optimize discussions and interactions, numbers are limited. Please note that we may need to limit the number of places allocated to each centre/institute to increase diversity on the course.

Learning outcomes

Following attendance of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe and critically evaluate the current role of genomics in healthcare.
• Assess and critique the use of a variety of visualization tools and databases, such as DECIPHER.
• Perform a basic variant interpretation process for discussion with other professionals.
• Contribute effectively to discussions on variant interpretation during a multidisciplinary team meeting.
• Discuss the role of genetic counselling in the future applications of genomics in different healthcare systems
• Discuss the challenges and opportunities in broadening access to genomics.