Testimonial for the Molecular Genetics for Genetic Counsellors Course

by Gillian Bromilow, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust

Gilly attended the 1st Molecular Genetics for Genetic Counsellors course in November 2007. Find out more about Nowgen’s Professional Training Courses

I attended this course in the hope that it would fill the woeful gaps in my knowledge regarding the techniques and applications of molecular genetics since I last studied it in the early 1990s. I am very pleased to say that this course did fulfil my hopes and expectations but also made me realise just how much has changed in the past 15 years and that the gaps in my knowledge were bigger than I had previously thought. My knowledge is still very far from complete, but at least I have now reached the point of knowing what I don’t know as opposed to not knowing what I don’t know!

The course was designed specifically by both clinical and scientific staff at NOWGEN for Genetic Counsellors who wish to update and gain knowledge about molecular genetics. It covered as much of the discipline as possible in 2 days and was therefore very intensive. At the end of the first day my brain was definitely aching, but I also felt a sense of achievement in that most of the information I had received I had managed to assimilate. There were initial sessions on DNA structure and chemistry, including complementarity and hybridisation, followed by mutations and PCR setup and amplification. There was a practical session in extracting DNA – now I know why I didn’t become a scientist – and a useful session on websites and what information is out there if you know how to find it and use the sites. The following day related the laboratory science to clinical cases and explained the science and interpretation of the results behind the cases. This was both fascinating and awe-inspiring! At the end of the 2 days I felt that I could understand the actual reports better, had some appreciation of just how difficult it can be to interpret a result and also to actually perform the test, it also emphasised how much I depend upon my colleagues in the laboratory.

My only comment is that it is difficult to get so much information across in such a relatively short time and some previous science knowledge was helpful in being familiar with the most of the terms used even if my understanding was not very good. It was a lesson for me in how our patients must feel as we explain ‘genetics’ to them!