New Resources Enable Residency Programs and Medical Schools to Implement Genomics Education

The Training Residents in Genomics (TRIG) Working Group has recently launched updated genomics resources for pathology residents.  In addition, a brand-new genomics curriculum to use with medical students has been developed by the Undergraduate Training in Genomics (UTRIG) Working Group.

Updated TRIG Curriculum Focuses on Virtual Learning

In 2014, TRIG released an extensively vetted handbook and toolkit to allow residency programs to implement local team-based learning workshops.  This curriculum has been used worldwide and, in 2019, was updated to include new cases, online genomics tools and patient testing reports.  In 2016, TRIG released online modules.  This resource allows for independent, asynchronous learning by translating the live, team-based genomics workshop experience to an interactive virtual environment. These original online genomics modules were shown in a study of 10 pathology training programs to significantly improve genomics knowledge and the ability to utilize online genomics tools.

Newly updated Genomic Pathology Online Modules, based on the 2019 update to the handbook and toolkit, are now available. With COVID and the need for self-directed remote learning opportunities, these online modules are a valuable resource not only for residents but other healthcare professionals who would like to learn more about genomic medicine.  

UTRIG Expands Genomics Training to Medical Students

Newly released materials also enable the integration of a flexible, field-tested introductory genomics curriculum into medical school coursework.  Similar to the TRIG resident curriculum, an Instructor Handbook and Toolkit are available to help medical and other health professional schools locally implement this training, which consists of approximately four to six hours of active team-based learning instruction.

“Using the collaborative TRIG model, the UTRIG Working Group has developed a field-tested, team-based learning genomics curriculum for medical students,” says Richard L. Haspel, MD, PhD, FASCP, Chair of the TRIG and Co-Chair of the UTRIG Working Groups and Associate Professor of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston. “We need to train all physicians, not only pathologists, in genomic medicine.”

About the TRIG and UTRIG Working Groups

Both the TRIG and UTRIG Working Groups, formed through the Association of Pathology Chairs, include experts in medical education in collaboration with representatives from major pathology and genomics organizations.

Dr. Haspel has received a grant from the National Cancer Institute for development of the TRIG and UTRIG resources.

Visit https://www.pathologylearning.org/trig/resources to learn more and register for these free materials.