The GEP is inviting medical professionals across the UK to help inform future training and education plans in genomics

Health Education England’s Genomics Education Programme (GEP) is seeking views from the medical community as part of its new national health and care workforce survey.

You can access the survey until Friday 31 December 2021, or read our FAQs below to find out more about what’s involved.

An illustrated group of health professionals

Survey FAQs

What is the survey for?

The purpose of the Genomics in your Practice survey is to:

  • assess if and how medics currently use genomics;
  • measure self-perceived confidence in their genomics knowledge and skills;
  • evaluate engagement with genomics education and training;
  • understand their intention to use genomics in future practice; and
  • identify future education and training requirements.

We also intend to:

  • repeat the survey every 2-5 years to measure change.

Who is doing this work?

Health Education England’s Genomics Education Programme is carrying this work out as part of fulfilling one of the commitments set out in Genome UK.

Why have I been asked to take part?

We are asking all practitioners with a medical degree, irrespective of level of experience or area of work, to complete the survey. This will enable us to gain a full picture of the medical workforce in relation to genomics.

Do I have to take part?

Taking part in this study is completely voluntary. Choosing or declining to take part will not affect you in any way, other than the time taken to complete the survey.

What will I have to do?

The online survey will ask you a number of questions about you and your clinical role, focusing on your use, or not, of genomic testing. It will also ask you about your confidence in accessing genomic tests and using genomic information to inform your clinical practice. The survey finishes by asking some questions about how you access education and training information and what topic areas in genomics you would like to learn more about.

The survey will be available online until Friday 31 December 2021. It should take around 15-25 minutes to complete.

How will participating benefit me?

Individually, participating in the survey can help with your CPD planning.

The survey invites you to reflect on how you encounter genomics in your practice and consider your learning and development needs. You can use these reflections to inform your CPD choices, PDP and job planning – as highlighted in page 12 of the GMC guidance on CPD.

Following completion of the survey, we also provide respondents with a ‘genomics learning journey’ – a flexible way to chart your own course in building your knowledge of genomics medicine.

Collectively, the survey results will inform future education and training plans, helping to ensure that educational opportunities in genomics are better aligned to the medical community’s needs.

What if I need help with the survey?

If you encounter any difficulties in accessing or completing the survey, please email the project team.

Who will my information be shared with?

The information you provide will be kept confidential. The only people to see your all your responses will be the GEP team. Any information that could identify you as an individual will not be shared outside of the GEP. You will be asked if some of your information can be shared with local Education and Training Leads, but this is not a mandatory part of the survey and if you do not consent to this, then this information will not be shared.

The data will be kept securely in line with Health Education England’s privacy policy. Any reports written using the data may include some of your comments as quotes; however, you will remain anonymous.

How will my data be used?

By completing the survey, you give your consent for your responses to be collected, stored and analysed, and to be included in reports and other publications. Your information will be kept confidential and data will be presented so that individual respondents cannot be identified. Where there are small numbers of respondents from different specialisms or organisations, data will be combined so that it not possible to identify individuals in any reports, presentations or summaries.

Can I withdraw my information?

You can withdraw from the survey at any time before clicking ‘Finish survey’ – just close the browser window.

If you wish for your responses to be deleted from the survey data after you have clicked “Finish survey”, please contact the GEP team. It will not be possible to withdraw your data from any analyses already conducted, or reports or publications already published, but once your data has been deleted it will not be available to be included in subsequent analyses.

Why are you asking for my GMC number?

This information will allow us to match survey responses from individuals over time, and so track changes in reported clinical activity and personal confidence. It will not be used to identify you and will be replaced by a unique pseudoanonymised identifier.

This information will allow us to match survey responses from individuals over time and track changes in reported clinical activity and self-perceived confidence in genomics knowledge and skills. It will not be used to identify you and will be replaced by a unique pseudo-anonymised identifier. Only the project team from the Genomics Education Programme will have access to the link between your GMC number and your pseudo-anonymised identifier.

Who has approved this work?

This project has been assessed by the NHS Health Research Authority as not requiring their approval to be carried out. It has been approved by NHS HEE Information Governance.

Will I be able to read the survey results?

We will be publishing a national report on the survey findings in early 2022.

Are there plans to survey other professional groups?

The intention is to develop future iterations of the Genomics in your Practice workforce survey for other healthcare professional groups, such as nursing, midwifery and pharmacy.

Acknowledgements

This survey has been adapted from a survey developed by the Australian Genomics Health Alliance (AGHA). We acknowledge their input and advice while adapting the survey for a UK audience. Click below to read about the findings of the survey team.

The development of the UK survey has been supported by professionals from across the health service and beyond.

Task-and-finish group

  • Dr Michelle Bishop (co-chair), Education Development Lead, Genomics Education Programme, Health Education England
  • Professor Kate Tatton-Brown (co-chair), Consultant in Clinical Genetics, South West Thames Regional Genetics Service; Professor of Clinical Genetics and Genomic Education, St George’s University; Clinical Lead for Genomic Education, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
  • Dr Gemma Chandratillake, Education and Training Lead, East NHS Genomic Laboratory Hub
  • Emma Clark, Education and Training Lead, North East and Yorkshire NHS Genomic Laboratory Hub
  • Amanda Clarkson, Genomics Laboratory Operations Director, Cambridge University Hospitals Genomic Laboratory, East NHS Genomic Laboratory Hub
  • Sarah Clinton, Education and Training Lead, Central and South NHS Genomics Laboratory Hub, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dr Carrie Furnell, Consultant Paediatric Neurodisability, Virgin Care Ltd
  • Dr Jude Hayward, GPwSI in Genetics: Yorkshire Regional Genetics Service; Primary Care Adviser to Health Education England’s Genomics Education Programme; RCGP Joint Clinical Champion for Genomics with Dr Imran Rafi; Shipley Medical Practice: Affinity Care
  • Dr Dahlia Hopmeier, Genomics Clinical Fellow, Great Ormond Street Hospital
  • Dr Fiona Lalloo, Consultant Clinical Geneticist, Clinical Genetics Service, Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine
  • Dr Catherine Mercer, Consultant Clinical Geneticist, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dr Siobhan Simpson, Senior Education and Development Officer, Genomics Education Programme, Health Education England
  • Victoria Stinton, Consultant Clinical Scientist, North West NHS Genomic Laboratory Hub, Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dr Nicki Taverner, Genetic Counsellor, All Wales Medical Genomics Service; Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University; Chair, Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors
  • Melanie Watson, Education and Training Lead, South West NHS Genomic Laboratory Hub

Consensus group

(In addition to members of the task-and-finish group)

  • Dr Catherine Breen, General Practice Specialty Trainee, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
  • Dr Steven Bunce, GP, Clevedon Medical Centre
  • Dr Will Evans, GP Leeds; Honorary (Clinical) Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham; Clinical Lead, Mendelian; Chairman, Niemann-Pick UK
  • Dr Amy Glossop, Medical Author, NHS Digital
  • Dr Zsuzsanna Iyizoba-Ebozue, Royal College of Radiologists Dr Karol Sicher Cancer Research Fellow; Speciality Registrar in Clinical Oncology, St James University Hospital, Leeds
  • Dr Pooja Jain, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Leeds Cancer Centre; Honorary Lecturer, University of Leeds
  • Dr Hannah Walsh, Speciality Registrar in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Gemma Whitehead, Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist in Haematology, Chesterfield Royal Hospital

Additional reviewers

  • Dr Tracey Davis, BAPA representative to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
  • Professor James Hill, Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon, Manchester Royal Infirmary
  • Dr Anne Marsden, Chair of the British Association of Paediatricians in Audiology (BAPA)
  • Catherine Tait, Consultant Breast Surgeon, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust