Genomics in Healthcare

This free online course will provide healthcare professionals with a basic grounding in genomic medicine. It will introduce you to new genomic technologies, which are revolutionising medicine and will, in time, provide the mainstay of patient diagnosis, treatment and disease prevention.

Discover the potential of genetics in healthcare

The course will give you an awareness of genomic technologies and the data they generate. With ready access to genomic data promised by transformational NHS initiatives such as the 100,000 Genomes Project, genomic data will be integral to all sectors of medicine.

By the end of the course, you will understand the power and the challenges associated with these new technologies and data, enabling you to make appropriate referrals and evidence-based management decisions, and use genomic results for patient benefit, without compromising patient safety.

Learn with experts in clinical genetics and education

The course draws on the experience of experts in clinical genetics and education at St George’s, University of London, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Genomics Education Programme from Health Education England.

As clinical geneticists who undertake diagnosis and care of patients with genetic conditions on a regular basis, the course educators are able to explain the relevance of novel technologies to clinical practice both now and in the future.

Demonstrate your continuing professional development (CPD)

The course has been approved for distance-learning continuing professional development (CPD) by the:

• Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath): for 10 CPD credits.

To qualify for these CPD credits, you will need a Certificate of Achievement as evidence of completing the course. This online course was created in May 2015 and has been revised regularly.

Continue learning with the Genomics in Healthcare program

This course is the first of three in the Genomics in Healthcare program from St George’s, University of London. Completing all of the courses will enable you to study genomic technologies at a postgraduate level, whether for CPD or as a gateway to further study.

This course is aimed at current healthcare professionals, who are interested in learning more about the fundamentals of genetics and how genomic technologies are transforming medical practice.

If you’re a healthcare professional, you may find it useful to upgrade this course to support your continuing professional development (CPD). By upgrading, you’ll be able to take this course at your own pace and revisit the material at any time in future. Once you complete the course, you’ll receive a Certificate of Achievement as evidence of your CPD. This includes details of what you learnt, the number of learning hours required and the CPD credits achieved.

It is not essential to have previous genetic knowledge or experience, although medical terminology is used and the course is designed to be applicable to clinical practice.

Powerful new technologies have been driving forward immense and exciting changes in clinical practice.

The days of peering down the microscope to detect chromosome abnormalities are gone, replaced by chromosome analysis at the genomic level. Invasive Down syndrome tests in pregnancy have made way for the evaluation of fetal DNA in maternal blood. And instead of laborious gene-by-gene targeted sequencing, we can now sequence all of our genes in parallel in a single experiment.

The course has been approved for distance-learning continuing professional development (CPD) by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath): for 15 CPD credits.

Understand and apply molecular genetic techniques

This postgraduate-level course, in combination with Genomic Technologies in Clinical Diagnostics: Next Generation Sequencing Technologies, will help you understand these new and established genetic technologies, and their application to clinical practice.

This course focuses on molecular techniques. By the end, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and applicability of the molecular principles behind:

• array comparative genomic hybridisation (array CGH);
• karyotyping;
• fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH);
• Southern blotting;
• multiplex ligation probe amplification (MLPA);
• polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing;
• quantitative fluorescent PCR (QF-PCR);
• single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping and genome wide association studies (GWAS);
• and the extraction and analysis of cell free fetal DNA, including non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).

Through practice exercises each week, you will evaluate which laboratory investigations are most suitable for a given clinical scenario.

Continue studying with St George’s, University of London

Both Genomic Technologies in Clinical Diagnostics courses draw on the experience of experts in clinical genetics and education at St George’s, University of London.

The two courses will provide you with the teaching component of module 1 of the PGCert in Interpretation and Clinical Application of Genomic Data (PGCert ICAG) from St George’s. To apply for the PGCert ICAG, you must be employed as a genetics trainee within the UK, and hold a national training number (NTN) in clinical genetics.

If you upgrade and complete both courses on FutureLearn and earn a Certificate of Achievement for each, you will have completed the teaching component of the module, should you apply to study at St George’s.

This course is designed for scientists and healthcare professionals with an interest in obtaining a postgraduate-level understanding of molecular genomic techniques.

If you are new to the field, we recommend that before you start this course, you complete The Genomics Era: the Future of Genetics in Medicine.