Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics

The Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG) was formed in February 2013 from the Genomic Medicine IV meeting. Through ISCC-PEG, members can collaborate to identify educational needs and potential solutions, share best practices in educational approaches and develop educational resources.

ISCC-PEG membership includes over 180 representatives from societies, professional organizations, NIH institutes, industry as well as individuals with expertise in medical education.

Since its inception, ISCC-PEG has provided an important forum for discussion and, through project groups, conference calls and in-person meetings, developed resources for genomics education including webinars, published competencies and workshops at meetings of member organizations.

For more information on the ISCC-PEG and its mission, refer to the following ISCC-PEG Description.

ISCC-PEG membership consists of representatives from societies, professional organizations NIH institutes, industry as well as individuals with expertise in medical education. The ISCC-PEG is co-chaired by an NIH official and an external member. Members include nurses, genetic counselors, medical geneticists, pharmacists, dentists, and physicians from a variety of medical specialties.

If you or your organization have a demonstrated interest in health care provider genomics education, we welcome your involvement in the ISCC-PEG. Contact ISCC-NHGRI@nih.gov and copy Donna Messersmith (donna.messersmith@nih.gov).

Annually, ISCC-PEG Members submit information on their genomics education initiatives and interests to facilitate collaboration.

The Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG) is a collaborative group aimed at improving healthcare provider genomics education. Currently, ISSC-PEG has over 180 members, which includes societies, institutes, individuals and industry members. The committee is supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

The Scholars Program provides exposure to the broader genomics community and experts in the field, with opportunities to work on a genetics/genomics-related education projects under the mentorship of an ISCC-PEG member. The appointment is for two years. Each scholar will have their travel funded for the annual ISCC-PEG in-person meeting (typically January or February) for a presentation on their project progress.

Requirements

• Students or trainees must be enrolled in a college, a higher degree program or a training program for at least the first year as a scholar.
• Show interest in genetics and healthcare provider education. However, expertise or training program focus is not required.
• Be able to commit to the full two-year term.
• Be willing to work on a genetics education project with an assigned mentor.
• Participate in monthly conference calls and attend/present at the annual in-person meetings.
• Submit a letter of support from the supervisor or program director.
• Eligible to work in the United States. NHGRI will not sponsor visas or international travel. 

Program Flyer (PDF)

Questions about the ISCC-PEG Scholars Program must be submitted to ISCCPEGScholars@nih.gov by June 29, 2020. Questions will be reviewed and corresponding information in the application will be updated. Please submit your application after July 15 and before the deadline of September 1, 2020. Selected candidates will be notified by mid-October, 2020.

The Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics (ISCC-PEG) commissioned four initial working groups to address major areas identified at the Genomic Medicine IV meeting that are critical to effective implementation of clinical genomics. Over time, additional project groups have been established. Project groups are proposed by and made up of ISCC-PEG members. These groups play a key role in addressing specific needs in genomics education and developing related resources. Examples of resources developed include genomics competencies for healthcare providers and "plug and play" universal genomics education exercises adapted by several organizations and used at their annual meetings.

Inclusion in the Practice of Genomic Medicine: Exploring the Impact of Implicit Biases Towards Disability (Shoumita Dasgupta):

This group has developed CME/CEU-granting educational resources related to studying unconscious bias for individuals with disabilities during prenatal screening.

See the free Patient-Centered Prenatal Genetic Counseling resource on the BU/CME website.

This Project Group's goals are to:

1. Identify implicit and/or explicit bias held by medical students and clinicians towards individuals with physical and/or intellectual disability.
2. Determine whether these biases impact genetic counseling recommendations in a prenatal setting.
3. Assess whether training in patient-centered counseling can positively impact subjects' ability to appropriately make unbiased prenatal recommendations.

Pharmacogenomics (Andrew Monte, Phil Empey):

This project group develops educational content for clinicians of all specialties. This is a multidisciplinary group that leverages expertise from nurses, PharmDs, physicians, researchers, and others with expertise in pharmacogenomics.

This Project Group is working on these goals:

1. Create and/or re-purpose pharmacogenomics educational content and resources targeted to clinicians;
2. Prepare for presentations at clinician professional meetings;
3. Tailor pharmacogenomics educational content for nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, genetic counselors, physicians, researchers, and other healthcare professionals; and
4. Educate the public in pharmacogenomics to improve healthcare.

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Genetic Testing (Tracey Weiler, Heewon Lee):

This Project Group is:

1. Assessing need, generating ideas and facilitating development for additional DTC-GT educational resources for healthcare professionals and trainees.
2. Identifying venues to partner with to develop and and distribute DTC-GT educational resources appropriate to the needs of organizations needing DTC-GT education (ISCC member organizations and others).
3. Collecting and documenting existing DTC-GT information resources (including educational, position statements and peer-reviewed literature and news media)

Rare Diseases (Michelle Snyder)

This Project Group is working on these goals:

1. Educate healthcare professionals on available resources for rare genetic diseases.
2. Develop resources to address the challenges of rare diseases, such as diagnostic delays, lack of available treatment guidelines, and limited referral pathways.
3. Identify effective dissemination methods for information about rare diseases by specialty or practice area.

Case Studies

• Collect existing use cases and disseminate through ISCC dissemination efforts.
• Develop general and society-specific use cases in genetics in five general topic areas:
  • Pharmacogenomics
  • Family History
  • Rare, single gene disorders
  • Common Disease with genetic component
  • Whole Genome/Exome sequencing
    • Incidental Findings
• Coordinate with the Educational Products WG to identify and develop materials to support use cases
• Coordinate with the Competencies WG to review existing competencies and explore how to translate into use cases that support competency achievement.
• Engage with the specialty end users to:
• Identify subjects of interest for use case development.
• Evaluate disseminated use cases for relevance and utility.
• See "Cases" in "Resources and Articles".

Competencies

• Review surveys and other sources to see what competencies would fit into current clinical practice.
• Review any existing competencies in genomic medicine education and existing guidelines in the use of genomics.
• Work with individual professional societies to determine their desire for competencies and where they would fit in.
• This working group completed its primary aims and went dormant in January 2015.
• See "Articles" in "Resources and Articles".

Global Educational Products Working Group

• Collect existing educational products from ISCC representatives.
• Identify relevant federally-funded resources and initiatives (such as CRVR, PharmGKB, Genetic Testing Registry) that could assist genomics education efforts and clinical practice.
• Work with use cases group to identify areas of emphasis for educational products (e.g. ordering of genetic tests, counseling, return of results).
• See "Recorded Webinars" in "Resources and Articles".

Engagement of Specialty Boards

• Determine the extent that specialty boards already have genomics in their examinations.
• Reach out to specialty boards that may not be integrating genomics into exams at this time.
• Link specialty boards with relevant professional societies that are already implementing genomics education or are looking to implement.

Innovative Approaches to Education

• Develop novel ways to teach genomics, building on the highly successful 'Training Residents in Genomics (TRIG)' approach developed through NCI R25 funding and educational design support from the American Society for Clinical Pathology.
• See "Resources and Articles" for information on "Universal" Exercises.

Insurer Staff Education

• Identify areas of greatest need for genomics knowledge in the clinical context among the staff and medical directors of health insurers' claims and preauthorization processing pipelines.
• Execute a pilot webinar series to educate insurer staff, and gather effectiveness data iteratively.
  See "Recorded Webinars" in "Resources and Articles".

Speaking Genetics

• Identify language use patterns in genomics spoken language in professional, community and patient-provider contexts.
• Create recommendations for language use in patient-centered genomics communications that optimize understanding and minimize the need to learn new scientific, medical or technical terms and phrases.
• See "Speaking Genetics: GARD Data Analysis Summary" in "Resources and Articles".

Ninth In-Person Meeting
February 25, 2020

Eighth In-Person Meeting
February 19, 2019

Seventh In-Person Meeting
February 1, 2018

Sixth In-Person Meeting
January 24, 2017

Fifth In-Person Meeting
January 14, 2016

Fourth In-Person Meeting
May 21, 2015

Third In-Person Meeting
November 18, 2014

Second In-Person Meeting
April 23, 2014

First In-Person Meeting
September 19-20, 2013

Plenary Session Minutes
Webinar: June 26, 2013

Genetics/Genomics Competency Center (G2C2): an online repository of genomics educational materials, peer-reviewed by and for genetic counselors, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, and physicians. To assist in curriculum development, resources are mapped to discipline-specific published genomic competencies.

Global Genetics and Genomics Community (G3C): Genomic healthcare video simulations of unfolding case scenarios. Interview "patients" at your own pace and complete supplemental educational activities; includes assessments and a genomic expert commentary. ISCC has provided input for module development.

"Training Residents in Genomics" (TRIG): To prepare healthcare providers for genomic medicine, this website provides resources for workshops and courses. The "Universal Genomics Instructor Handbook and Toolkit," developed through the ISCC Innovative Approaches Working Group, is available on the website. These exercises can be adapted to almost any medical specialty and workshops have been held at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Heart Association.

Recorded Webinars

Dr. Bruce Korf, Global Genomic Medicine Collaborative (G2MC) (March 20, 2017)

Dr. Anneke Seller and Dr. Michelle Bishop, Health Education's Genomics Education Programmes (May 17, 2017)

Webinars for Health Insurers and Payers: Understanding Genetic Testing
Fourteen webinars produced by volunteer experts in genetic and genomic medicine and testing.

Articles

Musunuru K, Haspel RL. Innovative Approaches to Education Working Group of the Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics. Improving Genomic Literacy Among Cardiovascular Practitioners via a Flipped-Classroom Workshop at a National Meeting. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2016 Jun;9(3):287-90. [Full Text]

Korf BR, Berry AB, Limson M, Marian AJ, Murray MF, O'Rourke PP, Passamani ER, Relling MV, Tooker J, Tsongalis GJ, Rodriguez LL. Framework for development of physician competencies in genomic medicine: report of the Competencies Working Group of the Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Physician Education in Genomics. Genet Med. 2014 Nov;16(11):804-9. [Full Text]

Manolio TA, Murray MF. Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics. The growing role of professional societies in educating clinicians in genomics. Genet Med. 2014 Aug;16(8):571-2. [Full Text]

Weitzel, K., Edelman, E., Roberts, R., Korf, B., Murray, M., Messersmith, D., and Jenkins, J. Development of a competency based genomic education resource for physicians. American Society of Human Genetics Abstract and Poster 2015.

"Speaking Genetics: GARD Data Analysis Summary", Prepared for the ISCC Speaking Genetics Working Group. [Full Text]

Case Studies

Clinicians often best understand the value of new information in context through case-based learning. The genetic and genomic case studies created by the ISCC Case Studies Working Group members represent examples of scenarios physicians are likely to encounter in practice. These cases are designed to present pertinent information, highlight decision points, provide background content about why certain decisions are appropriate, and link to the evidence base of knowledge and guidelines currently available. They incorporate competencies and entrustable professional activities identified by the ISCC's Competency Working Group.

These case studies also include suggestions for practice-based improvement activities that could be used for internal quality improvement activities and ultimately for maintenance of certification based on anticipated work of the ISCC's Specialty Board Working Group.

ISCC members are encouraged to assess their specialty practice and to develop case studies involving genomic medicine that would be highly relevant to their members, in collaboration with the Working Group. A template and an example are provided for getting started.

ISCC Working Group Co-Chairs: Wendy Rubinstein and Reed Pyeritz.

Proposed Use Case Template and Example
An outline to follow for creation of a case study scenario.

The existing case studies are listed at the links below:

Title: HLA-B alleles and adverse events related to use of carbamazepine and allopurinol
Type of Case Study: Genomic-based therapeutics, Pharmacogenomic
In collaboration with the National Human Genome Research Institute

Title: Mitochondrial DNA mutation A1555G and aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss and deafness
Type of Case Study: Gene-Based Intervention for Aminoglycoside Sensitivity Pharmacogenomics/Family History.
In collaboration with American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Title: Utilizing family history to identify Lynch Syndrome
Type of Case Study: Family History
In collaboration with the National Cancer Institute