CONTACT - Volume 10, Number 1
Spalding Leads Miami Team in Gift Program

Advances in genetics are increasing at such a rapid pace that new diagnostic tests, treatment options and educational advances make it difficult for health care providers to keep pace. To address the need for increased genetics content in graduate school health professions curricula, Duke University Medical Center was awarded a $1.5 million USDHHS grant to develop an innovative program that brings graduate faculty teams from nurse practitioner, nurse midwifery and physician assistant programs throughout the US to Duke University to learn about advances in genetics and methods to facilitate incorporating genetics as a recurring theme throughout their graduate curricula. Each team also includes a medical geneticist or genetic counselor who serves as a resource. This program accepts up to 25 faculty teams to participate in the educational program over 3 years.

The educational program consists of three parts: An online genetics primer that prepared the faculty teams for their time at Duke, an intensive, on campus residency which focused on knowledge attainment as well as interacting and networking with other faculty teams and Duke scholars; and faculty are offered online resources and faculty forums with a moderator for their use in transitioning knowledge acquired into practice once at the home institution.

The 2003 Miami Team includes, from Barry University: Claudette Spalding, Ph.D., ARNP,Team Leader [Nursing]; Charles Culver, MD, Ph.D. [Graduate Medical Sciences]; Gerhild Packert, Ph.D., Medical Geneticist [Natural and Health Sciences], and Jeannie Gottlieb, CNM, MSN, University of Miami Division of Nursing.