Genomics in Patient Assessment Discussion Essay

Introduction

Chronic illnesses can present a great challenge in the life of a patient owing to the deterioration of function it brings about. Although they may not kill a person immediately, they reduce their quality of life and thus understanding the genetics involved in their etiology helps in the long term care of the patients. Genomics enables implementation of screening, diagnostic, and therapeutic modalities specific for genes, which predispose to chronic illnesses (Khoury & Holt, 2021). Having an understanding of the concepts of genomics is increasingly becoming important in the healthcare so all healthcare professionals should be equipped with this concept for safe and quality patient care. In this paper, the author will be discussing the importance of genomics in patient assessment and care. Genomics in Patient Assessment Discussion Essay

Genomics improves our understanding of diseases and possible interventions

By understanding the genetic make-up of an organism, we are able to study different genetic variations that lead to certain illnesses such as cancers, heart diseases, and diabetes. Such diseases have various risk factors such as lifestyle behaviors and genes. Genomics refers to the structure, function, and evolution of genomes, which include an organism’s entire DNA composition (Manolio et al., 2020). Studying these genes helps map out the variations responsible for diseases in the individual. This helps us to understand the genetic predisposition associated with diseases for prevention, early diagnosis, and management of chronic illnesses. Genomics in Patient Assessment Discussion Essay

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Genomics helps in patient assessment by providing the genomic and phenotypic data that enables the growth of knowledge used in evaluating disease risks to inform better healthcare provision (Bilkey et al., 2019). These data are organized such that entering the patient information and gene study gives matches that show whether they have the genes predisposing to any chronic illnesses. Through this, therapeutic interventions can be undertaken before the disease process develops, such as in patient counselling by the nurse, thus enabling disease prevention. Disease screening can also be done prenatally and in childhood years to provide possible preventive measures for genetically inherited diseases such as sickle cell disease (Bilkey et al., 2019).

Genomics can be used to make decisions for treatment purposes based on an individuals predicted response to the therapeutic modalities chosen (Khoury & Holt, 2021). By studying a patient’s DNA composition, we are able to assess their treatment responses through pharmacogenomics. This involves the study of drug metabolism by these individuals. This also gives us an idea of how the person will be affected by drug adverse effects. This genetic profiling helps in designing tailored therapies for these patients so that we can achieve the maximum required drug dose effects while minimizing the adverse effects. Genomics in Patient Assessment Discussion Essay

Conclusion

The field of genomics is an important tool in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. As healthcare and informatics are advancing, nursing care should strive to include genomics into routine patient care to enable early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions that incorporate pharmacogenomics into an individual’s care. This will lead to the provision of more relevant and patient-oriented care for better patient outcomes in management of all diseases including chronic illnesses. Genomics in Patient Assessment Discussion Essay

References

Bilkey, G. A., Burns, B. L., Coles, E. P., Bowman, F. L., Beilby, J. P., Pachter, N. S., Baynam, G., J. S. Dawkins, H., Nowak, K. J., & Weeramanthri, T. S. (2019). Genomic testing for human health and disease across the life cycle: Applications and ethical, legal, and social challenges. Frontiers in Public Health, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00040

Khoury, M. J., & Holt, K. E. (2021). The impact of genomics on precision public health: Beyond the pandemic. Genome Medicine, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13073-021-00886-y

Manolio, T. A., Bult, C. J., Chisholm, R. L., Roden, D. M., & Rowley R. (2020). Genomic Medicine Year in Review: 2020. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7820801/ Genomics in Patient Assessment Discussion Essay

There are several chronic health problems with genetic/genomic components that plague the population. These health problems are very difficult and challenging diseases to manage. Evidenced-based nursing practice must include genetic and genomic information when planning patient care. Nurses, through their knowledge and support, play an important role in positive patient outcomes when managing the challenges of these genetically linked diseases.

For this Discussion, you will consider applications of various topics to genetics and genomics. Review the Resources focusing on the application of genetics and genomics to nursing

Choose one of the following subtopics:

Pharmacogenomics and chronic illnesses
Genomics in patient assessment
Genetically competent care for those with chronic illnesses Genomics in Patient Assessment Discussion Essay