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Continued from Page 3
"I've been doing counseling and education for
seven years, and I just learned there's another HNPCC
mutation that I've never heard of before," Jenkins
said. "It's [changing] daily.
"People keep saying it's not going to be here
for another five to 10 years. Well, it's here. It's
just a matter of being able to translate it into practice,"
Jenkins said. "And when you combine that with costs
and economy and the way you don't have much time to
provide health care these days, or the resources to
provide it, it just compounds the problem of getting
it into clinical practice to make the best benefit."
As with other areas of nursing practice, genetics nursing
must contend with the persistent nursing shortage across
the country. As far as the science takes genetics nursing,
it could be severely restricted by the limited number
of specialists and RNs capable of instituting it. But
some genetics specialists hold out hope that genetics-based
nursing could prove to be a tonic to the shortage, rather
than exacerbate it.
"My vision is that genetics is going to change
the focus on the shortage," Lea said. "Because
it will be an exciting part of nursing, it will drive
more individuals into nursing. That may be wishful thinking,
but I think that may happen."
Contact Glen Fest at glenf@nurseweek.com
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