Introduction: Genomics is the study of complete or partial genetic sequence of organisms. In healthcare genomics studies molecular mechanisms and interaction of this molecular information. Knowledge and interest in genomic medicine is developing, especially in areas such as perinatal care, pediatrics, oncology, family medicine, but limited genomic competence of healthcare professionals poses a problem in the integration of genomics into practice. Purpose: The purpose of this diploma work, through a literature review is to investigate the competences of nurses in the field of genomics and to focus on education of nursing students about genomics. The aim is to determine the presence of genomics content in nursing study programs and education of nursing students about genomics. Methods: In the diploma work, we used a descriptive work method, with a review of professional and scientific literature. We limited the literature to the year of publication from 2010 onwards. The literature was searched in the English language using the keywords genomics, nursing, education, competence and using the AND operator, in the MEDLINE (PubMed) and CINAHL Ultimate databases and Google Scholar search engine. Results: Genomics is underrepresented in nursing curricula, and higher education nursing educators lack genomics knowledge. As a result, this affects the education of nursing students, who feel that they are insufficiently educated in the field to incorporate genomics into practice. Nurses are expected to acquire basic genomics competencies during their study years, but many nursing schools around the world, still do not include basic genomics content in their curricula. We found that research on this topic does not yet exist in Slovenia. Discussion and conclusion: Genetics and genomics play a role in the etiology of almost every individual health condition. However, it is noticeable that there is still not enough knowledge of genomics among nursing students and healthcare workers. Genomics however is closely related to nursing and nurse in particular is the main link in ensuring the overall treatment of the patient. There are core genomic competencies for nursing that define what skills nurses need to have in order to treat a patient. Genomics needs to be talked about more and passed on to future healthcare professionals.
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