August 16, 2021

Paediatric oncologists got together in June to learn about the application of genomics in their clinical practice. Melbourne Genomics hosted a virtual education workshop prior to the Australian & New Zealand Children’s Haematology/Oncology Group virtual scientific meeting, kick-starting Melbourne Genomics’ workforce development activities for the new program.

Dr Dong Anh Khuong Quang and Dr Kanika Bhatia from The Royal Children’s Hospital codesigned online learning modules and case studies with the Melbourne Genomics education team. The group was joined by four expert colleagues from the Zero Childhood Cancer program in NSW – Dr Loretta Lau, Paulette Barahona, Dr Pamela Ajuyah and Dr Ann-Kristin Altekoester – who facilitated small group case discussions.

The workshop had a total of 26 attendees from across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Participants engaged in interactive peer-group learning as they worked through a series of case studies involving different cancers and genomic testing approaches, such as whole genome sequencing and RNA sequencing. The expert facilitators supported a deeper understanding of test limitations, interpretation and the therapeutic implications of the results.

Post-workshop surveys yielded positive feedback and praise, with participants noting they found the online content, interactive discussions, break-out groups and case studies “illustrative and prepare[d] the attendees” to apply what they learnt in their clinical practice.

“It was great to see our education reach medical specialists from all over Australia and that our case-based learning format continues to be well-received, even virtually,” said Melbourne Genomics Clinical Project Manager Elly Lynch.

The workshop is the first of many education opportunities in our new program. Melbourne Genomics is continually exploring ways to build genomics skills in the clinical, diagnostic and data science workforces. Follow us on Twitter for the latest opportunities.

For more information on previous education initiatives, read the project summaries here.

For more online professional learning in genomics, visit learn-genomics.org.au.

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