Genetics is an important field of study for every health care professional to understand. Moreover, because nurses are the greatest client advocates and interact the most with individuals throughout their hospital stays, they therefore must know how to translate genetic tests. Medical-surgical nurses treat a variety of patients, who each can have numerous diseases and health problems. Nurses who work in a medical surgical unit must understand the great effect that a client’s genes have on their health and well-being and must take genetics into consideration throughout the care and treatment of each client (Ignatavicius, 2014).
Genetics focuses on the mechanics of inheritance, the individual genes that are concerned with genetic traits and inherited traits. Meanwhile, genomics is concerned with the entirety of the human genome, how genes work together to make up a human being (Ignatavicius, 2014). There is a continual push towards genetic knowledge within nursing (Coleman, et. al., 2014). “Genetic and genomic literacy now distinguishes all nursing professionals as state-of-the-art academicians, researchers, and clinicians who will provide the best care possible.” (Coleman, et. al., 2014) Bloom Syndrome is an autosomal recessive
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al. 2016). Testing during pregnancy is available if done through amniocentesis around 15-18 weeks (Sanz, et. al. 2016). The ethical issue surrounding in utero testing is that a diagnosis of Bloom syndrome or other syndromes often leads to the deliberate abortion of the baby. In a study done in 2017, 63% of women aborted their children after a positive Down Syndrome test, 100% in Hong Kong, Spain, France, and Taiwan, and 86% in the Netherlands (Hill, et. al. 2017). Prenatal testing is a highly debated ethical issue and should have more strict