Nursing students' perceived knowledge and attitude towards genetics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge base of nursing students regarding the topic of genetics and how this may change as a student progresses through the nursing program. A 70 item multiple-choice and dichotomous survey was given to freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior nursing students at a university school of nursing in the eastern part of the United States. Two hundred and seventy five pre-licensure nursing students, 255 females and 18 males, comprised the sample. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed and the results concluded that there was a significant difference among the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in regards to having at least a 'minimal' knowledge or better of medical genetic terminology and conditions. Seniors reported a higher number of terms which they had at least a 'minimal' knowledge level or better than freshmen or sophomores. Also the juniors reported a higher number of terms which they had at least a 'minimal' knowledge level or better than sophomores.

Perceived genetic knowledge among pre-licensure undergraduate nursing students

“…A U.S. study demonstrated senior nursing students (4th year) having a greater perceived knowledge of genetic terms than either freshman (1st year), sophomore (2nd year) or junior (3rd year) nursing students. [19] The students in this study did not have a stand-alone course but basic genetic content was covered in the biology class and integrated in some of the nursing courses in the advanced nursing levels. [19] The findings of this current study support that educational processes lead to knowledge gain.…”

“…[19] The students in this study did not have a stand-alone course but basic genetic content was covered in the biology class and integrated in some of the nursing courses in the advanced nursing levels. [19] The findings of this current study support that educational processes lead to knowledge gain. As previously stated, the singular didactic genetics course was developed, at the beginning of the students' educational process, to establish the basis for the comprehension of genetic content, with an assumption that the furthering of this knowledge would occur as the student progressed through the curriculum.…”

“…Exploring clinical comfort level is an important concept as it relates to level of knowledge (genetic concepts and diseases) and ability to inform patients about the risk of genetic conditions. [15,19,24] …”

“…[9,10] Studies exploring perceived genetic knowledge and teaching strategies related to the inclusion of genetic content into curricula has been conducted in the United Kingdom; [11,12] New Zealand; [13] Japan; [14] Turkey; [15] Taiwan; [16] and the United States. [7,8,[17][18][19][20][21] These studies revealed that perceived genetic knowledge and clinical comfort remain inadequate among pre-licensure nursing students or advanced practice nursing students. [16] Studies exploring nurse faculty members' perceived knowledge of genetics continue to demonstrate the limitation of faculty to teach this content.…”

Undergraduate Nursing Students' Perceived Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Genetics and Nursing Competencies for Genetics

“…(Dodson & Lewallen, 2011;Hsiao et al, 2011;Iino et al, 2002;Maradiegue et al, 2005;Vural et al, 2009) Table 5). …”