Nursing genetics and genomics: The International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG) survey

Background: The International Society of Nursing in Genetics (ISONG) fosters scienti fi c and professional de- velopment in the discovery, interpretation, and application of genomic information in nursing research, edu- cation, and clinical practice. Objectives: Assess genomic-related activities of ISONG members in research, education and practice, and com- petencies to serve as global leaders in genomics. Design: Cross-sectional survey (21-items) assessing genomic-related training, knowledge, and practice. Settings: An email invitation included a link to the anonymous online survey. Participants: All ISONG members ( n = 350 globally) were invited to partake. Methods: Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test for between-group comparisons. Results: Respondents ( n = 231, 66%), were mostly Caucasian, female, with a master's degree or higher. Approximately 70% wanted to incorporate genomics in research, teaching, and practice. More than half reported high genomic competency, and over 95% reported that genomics is relevant the next 5 years. Conclusions: Findings provide a foundation for developing additional educational programs for an international nursing workforce in genomics