Nurses' Perceived Benefits, Barriers, and Educational Recommendations for Using Family Pedigrees in Clinical Practice

Background: There is growing emphasis on the use of genetics and genomics, including family pedigrees, in nursing education. This study explored nurses' perceptions of the benefits, barriers, and educational recommendations related to family pedigrees. Methods: A qualitative design using focus group methods was used to gather data from a convenience sample of 28 nurses working at a large medical center in the Midwestern United States. Results: Nurses believed that factors supporting the use of family pedigrees are clearly identified patient benefits, an electronic tool initiated in primary care, and use by multiple disciplines. Barriers include lack of ongoing support and possible ethical, legal, social, and cultural issues. Educational recommendations include clinically relevant patient and family decision making regarding care. Conclusion: These nurses had positive perceptions of the use of family pedigrees in clinical nursing practice. They identified a need for education and stressed the importance of specialty-specific case examples to maximize relevance. J Contin Educ Nurs 2012;43(11):509-517.