Improving Genetic Knowledge Among Physicians: A Necessity in the Era of Genomic Medicine
Abstract Background: Genetic analyses have experienced rapid development over the past decades. This evolution is accompanied by a considerable increase in indications in clinical practice. As a result, physicians are exposed to prescribing and understanding genetics results in their daily practice. The objective was to assess the knowledge of young physicians on new genetic techniques and their expectations concerning molecular biology education. Methods: This study is based on the results of an anonymized questionnaire on genetics knowledge sent to young French physicians specialized in medical oncology, radiation therapy, and clinical hematology in France; and on a retrospective analysis of nonconformities to requirements of the ISO 15189 accreditation standard in genetics samples from a Parisian university hospital center. Results: Of the 87 young physicians (median age 29, 58.6% female) who responded to the survey, 60.3% did not differentiate several standard molecular biology techniques. Median Visual Analog Scale for theoretical knowledge of standard genetic technics was 35/100 (IQR 20-56). Median Visual Analogical Scale for genetics diagnostic and theragnostic indications knowledge were 50/100 (IQR 31.2-70) and 43/100 (IQR 19.2-65), respectively. Proficiency in genetics results interpretation was assessed with a Median Visual Analog Scale of 47/100 (IQR 23.25-69). Finally, 82.4% of young physicians believed that the current teaching of molecular biology was not suited to their current practice and 91.9% requested a specific training implementation. These results were supported by the high rate of nonconformities regarding the prescription (43%) among the different types of nonconformities of genetics samples.Conclusion: Medical education on new techniques of genetics by young French physicians appears to be insufficient, and a specific training should be considered. A better knowledge of this discipline is necessary in order to control the clinical, ethical and financial issues associated with the exponential use of molecular biology in medicine.