American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Announces New Online "Genetics Academy" for Genetic and Genomic Education

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American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics

May 28, 2015, 08:00 ET

BETHESDA, Md., May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) has unveiled its new ACMG Genetics Academy for Genetic and Genomic Education at www.acmg.net/education, an online educational portal where healthcare professionals interested in genetics and genomics in clinical and laboratory practice can enroll in courses and create their own personal learning management center.

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From the fundamentals of genetics and genomics to the best practices of clinical care, the ACMG Genetics Academy will offer healthcare professionals and scientists access to a variety of dynamic educational formats in one easy to use site: self-paced interactive learning, webcasts, live streaming courses, online archived courses and more. It offers a personalized learning center where individuals can track their courses, manage their credits and access course blogs. New content will be added to the ACMG Genetics Academy regularly. The hugely popular ACMG Genomics Case Conferences, which began in 2014, are also available in the Genetics Academy. During each Genomic Case Conference a team from a selected institution has presented and led discussions on intriguing, complex or difficult patient cases, with the goal of illustrating the adaptation of exome or genome sequencing technology in clinical care.

"We envision the ACMG Genetics Academy to become a trusted hub of education in the ever-changing field of genetics and genomic medicine. No matter whether you are a genetics professional, a primary care provider or a specialist in another field, it is increasingly clear that all healthcare providers will need to have accurate and current knowledge of how genetic and genomic testing and interpretation can be applied to patient care. We hope to give those professionals convenient access to educational resources in genetics and genomics so they can provide the best care possible," said Michael S. Watson, MS, PhD, FACMG, executive director of the ACMG.

The ACMG Genetics Academy also offers handy features such as just-in-time learning support and participants will be able to view comprehensive reports on course activity, test scores, course completions and credits earned.

Short Video Tutorial on ACMG Genetics Academy is Also Now Available

Jane Radford, MHA, CHCP, ACMG's associate director of education said, "The ACMG Genetics Academy is very easy and intuitive to use, but to make it even easier, we've created a short four minute video tutorial showing users how to access all of the features." The brief tutorial video is at www.acmg.net/education and also on The ACMG Channel on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/theACMGChannel.

The ACMG Genetics Academy is at http://www.ACMG.net/education.

About the ACMG and ACMG Foundation

Founded in 1991, ACMG is the only nationally recognized medical society dedicated to improving health through the clinical practice of medical genetics and genomics. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (www.acmg.net) provides education, resources and a voice for nearly 1800 biochemical, clinical, cytogenetic, medical and molecular geneticists, genetic counselors and other healthcare professionals, nearly 80% of whom are board certified in the medical genetics specialties. The College's mission is to develop and sustain genetic initiatives in clinical and laboratory practice, education and advocacy. Three guiding pillars underpin ACMG's work: 1) Clinical and Laboratory Practice: Establish the paradigm of genomic medicine by issuing statements and evidence-based or expert clinical and laboratory practice guidelines and through descriptions of best practices for the delivery of genomic medicine. 2) Education: Provide education and tools for medical geneticists, other health professionals and the public and grow the genetics workforce. 3) Advocacy: Work with policymakers and payers to support the responsible application of genomics in medical practice. Genetics in Medicine, published monthly, is the official ACMG peer-reviewed journal. ACMG's website (www.acmg.net) offers a variety of resources including Policy Statements, Practice Guidelines, Educational Resources, and a Find a Geneticist tool. The educational and public health programs of the American College of Medical Genetics are dependent upon charitable gifts from corporations, foundations, and individuals through the ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine (www.acmgfoundation.org.)

SOURCE American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics