Genetics in Nursing Literature and Continuing Education

This project is a case study in dissemination of emerging knowledge in genetics for utilization in nursing as a practice discipline. The ultimate purpose of this project is to increase dissemination and utilization of genetic knowledge by as many as 25 to 50 percent of the nation's 2.2 million practicing nurses. The aims are to: (1) Conduct a comprehensive integrative review of the nursing and genetics literature not only to understand its evolution, but also to predict possible future directions for nurses in delivery of genetic services in the community, industry, and tertiary care hospitals. (2) Conduct an invitational conference for nursing journal editors and leaders in continuing education to teach them state of the science knowledge so that they can develop a strategic agenda, set priorities, and come to consensus on methods to disseminate knowledge to their memberships and readerships in a manner that appeals to different needs and learning styles of students, practitioners, educators, administrators, researchers, and nursing's policy-makers. (3) Disseminate knowledge obtained from the literature review, the educational conference, and discussants who access an Internet LISTSERV. Each method for dissemination this knowledge is evaluated for its effectiveness to further enhance dissemination and utilization of his new knowledge to a wider nursing audience.