Therese S. Richmond, PhD, FAAN, CRNP, is the Andrea B. Laporte professor of nursing and associate dean for research and innovation at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
At Penn Nursing, we talk in terms of precision science. Advances in precision science will allow nurses to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying a patient’s health, disorder, and symptoms. It helps us to stratify who is at highest risk for disorders and symptoms and allows us to tailor interventions most likely to be effective for individuals. Precision science integrates genes, lifestyles, and the physical, social, and economic environments that affect health and well-being.
Precision medicine, and the larger field of precision science, is important across all levels of nursing education—from BSN to MSN and DNP to how we instruct the next generation of PhD-prepared nurses. When many of our colleagues in other disciplines talk about precision medicine, they focus on genetic drivers of cancer. This is important, but there is so much more to it. We’re working to prepare nurses to bring the nursing lens to precision medicine—and incorporate it into their work.
Practicing nurses need to stay abreast of changes in knowledge generated by the Precision Medicine Initiative but also in the broader landscape of precision science so that they can provide optimal and targeted care to their patients. In terms of symptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatments, precision medicine will be generating new knowledge about who benefits from specific treatments. This includes pain management strategies, dealing with fatigue, and overcoming nausea. It will help nurses understand why some people respond to our interventions and some do not, and this can help us hone in on getting the right treatment to the right person at the right time. Reading professional journals, attending professional meetings, and having web-based guidelines and resources easily accessible on clinical sites are all strategies that can be used.
Educators also need to understand the importance of the social determinants of health. A patient’s zip code is as important as the genetic code in risks for cancer and survivorship. Educators can see the value of integrated science across genetics, lifestyle, and environments and the importance of rigorously testing the best interventions and targeting them to those most likely to benefit.