About the Course
The last few decades have witnessed an exponential growth in knowledge, catapulting genetics from obscurity to a pre-eminent place in healthcare. New information about causative genes, disease diagnosis and available treatment options for several single gene and complex genetic disorders as well as several birth defects, are now known making disease diagnosis and treatment easier. It is critical that clinicians learn about these developments and incorporate this knowledge into their practice. Each and every patient should be able to benefit from individualized therapy based on their unique genetic makeup; however, this can become a reality only when clinicians are able to comprehend the genetics behind the diseases and syndromes. More importantly, the implications of these must be explained to the patients and relatives in a professional and compassionate manner. Such education and counseling accompanying genetic testing is provided by Genetic Counselors in all developed countries; this kind of professional training is being given for the first time in India for clinicians. The National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) officially defines genetic counseling as the understanding and adaptation to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease. This process integrates:
- Interpretation of family and medical histories to assess the chance of disease occurrence or recurrence.
- Education about inheritance, testing, management, prevention, resources.
- Counseling to promote informed choices and adaptation to the risk or condition.
The contemporary areas where genetic counseling is useful are:
- Congenital/birth defects – Syndromic and non-syndromic
- Mental retardation – Chromosomal and Genetic
- Male and Female Infertility, Spontaneous abortions/Bad obstetric history (BOH)
- Artificial Reproduction Techniques and Pre-implantation genetics
- Neurological disorders – Seizures, Stroke and Psychiatric disorders
- Musculoskeletal disorders – especially Muscular dystrophies
- Metabolic disorder
- Any Familial Disorder – Eg: Thalassemia
- Common adult disorders – Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, Cardiovascular diseases
- Cancer genetics
- Personalized/Individualized medicine
- Stem cell banking and Regenerative Medicine
- Susceptibility to infectious diseases – TB, HPV, HIV
- Others – Deafness, Eye, Skin, Renal and Hematological disorders
Target Audience
General Practitioners, MBBS Doctors, Msc (Medical Genetics) students.
Course Delivery Format
This course is delivered entirely online. It consists of a series of comprehensive lectures by a professor in the subject, appropriately annotated with slides, animations and wherever necessary, interactive content. The delivery offers tremendous flexibility. You may pause a teacher while you refer to your textbooks (not includes) and to take notes. You may also rewind a segment to listen to the teacher again or you may skip a slide or two if you already know that bit. You may bookmark a segment that you wish to return to later, maybe to refresh just before your exams. While the lessons in this course may be arranged in a particular order based on our curriculum, you have the flexibility to take them in order of your preference based on your personalized learning needs.
Benefits
The six months Certificate course aims at imparting Clinicians with basic knowledge in Human Genetics, Genetic basis of disease, therapy and response. On completion of this course, a clinician will not only be able to provide individuals and their families’ information about diseases or problems they harbor, but also advise them of appropriate genetic tests and their consequences. They will be able to indicate the potential of gene therapy, individualized medicine and enumerate the risks of occurrence of disease to other family members, both in present and future generations. They will understand the appropriate way to communicate and impart genetic information using sound ethical and psychological methods.
Dr. Q (Annie) Hasan
Dr. Annapurna Srirambhatla
Mr. Hemanth Prasad
Mr. J.B. Vijaya Kumar
Ms. Syeda Zubeida
Prof. Dr. Y.R. Ahuja
Dr. Vijayalakshmi Kodati
Dr. Deena Patil
Dr. T. Ravinder Rao
Dr. Vasavi Mohan
Ms. Kiran Rathore
Ms Winnie Thomas
Ms Pavani Upendram
Avinash Reddy
Andhra Govt Medical College