This dissertation explores the phenomena of how Registered Nurses in athe New Zealand context participate in genetic conversations. The prominent themes identified in existing literature were; future orientated language and the idea of what nurses will need to know; the colonization of genetic counselling; and a paradigm shift called forfor by Dr. Gwen Anderson for nursing in genetics to move away from the biomedical approach to a holistic nursing model.
An identified gap in the literature related to no knowledge of how nurses engage in the topic of genetics- be it in a conversational space with patients or otherwise. A small focus group with registered nurses was conducted at a local hospital to explore this gap.
From the focus group four prominent themes emerged: senses of blame and responsibility; conversation content; the registered nurses role; and most prominently, feelings of being inadequately prepared, educated, or trained to meet the expected role. This dissertation calls for two primary actions; that the education and discussion of genetics move away from the borrowed biomedical model into an autonomous nursing space and that genetics be incorporated into nurse education at all levels. The FAMILY mnemonic has been developed to provide nurses with a tool to guide their genetic conversations.