A Basic Physician Trainee’s Genetic Immersion Experience in Cardiac Genetics

Aim: The rapidly expanding field of cardiovascular genomic medicine has required an increased knowledge of genetic testing and counselling.Targeted genomics education of non-genetic clinicians is essential to implement cardiac genomics in routine healthcare.The Genetics Immersion Program is a research-funded position for non-genetic clinicians to undertake training over 3 months embedded within the Queensland state wide clinical genetics service.This poster aims to detail qualitative experiential outcomes of this immersion term.Method: In 2023, I undertook a 12-week placement with Genetic Health Queensland, a state-wide clinical genetics service, with a focus on cardiac genetics.Targeted orientation, education, weekly cardiac clinics and a genetics focused project was developed with clinical geneticists and cardiologists.Results: Over a 12-week period I consulted patients in outpatient cardiac genetic clinics with supervision of clinical geneticists.This included exposure to all aspects of inpatient and outpatient genomic healthcare; including phenotyping, consent, genetic testing and results interpretation. Conclusion:The cardiac genetic immersion program has provided me with the skillset and resources to become a 'genetic champion' within the cardiology department.This term has provided me with genomic literacy, an appreciation of the role of genetic testing in the cardiac clinic, an understanding of how to interpret genetic testing and the limitations of genetic testing.Increased training of non-genetic registrars in genetic clinics will improve appropriate referral and utilisation of genetic testing results in patients and relatives with genetic cardiac diseases.