What is the course about?

This course will help doctors and midwives acquire the knowledge and skills they need to confidently provide prenatal and pre-pregnancy genetic screening in their daily practice.

Designed For

Highly recommended for midwives and doctors providing antenatal and pre-pregnancy care to women and their partners.

What are the learning outcomes?

1. Integrate your understanding of DNA and inheritance with your clinical practice in reproductive health.
2. Recall the principles of prenatal screening and reproductive carrier screening.
3. Identify couples that should be offered a genetic counselling referral.
4. Implement professional society recommendations into clinical practice.
5. Discuss options for screening in a manner that respects a woman’s preferences and values.
6. Differentiate the common prenatal screening tests, including first trimester combined test, non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and second trimester serum screening.
7. Recognise the place of assisted reproductive technology and pre-implementation genetic testing in improving genetic health for families.

What are the knowledge and skills that can be acquired through this course?

1. Understand the basis of genetic inheritance, mechanisms of genetic variation, and the difference between “genetics” and “genomics” 
2. Apply the clinical and ethical principles underpinning prenatal screening to clinical practice
3. Identify couples that require a genetic counselling referral
4. Concisely articulate options for prenatal screening
5. Provide general information to patients about prenatal diagnostic procedures
6. Understand the indications and methods used for pre-implantation genetic testing
7. Describe the current options for genetic carrier screening
8. Recognise and reflect on the ethical considerations in prenatal genomic testing
9. Use disability-positive language when discussing genetic variation and congenital health conditions

How do I complete this course?

Course completion requires approximately 12 hours of eLearning. This course is delivered online and students can study in their own time and location. Course materials can be accessed using a web browser.

How much does this course cost and how do I apply?

Doctors (specialist/GPs): $265 including GST (Early bird discount – only valid for the next 6 weeks). To apply, register at http://ecommerce.ueg.unimelb.edu.au/product.asp?pID=436&cID=79

Midwives, trainees, and students: $190 including GST (Early bird discount – only valid for the next 6 weeks). To apply, register at http://ecommerce.ueg.unimelb.edu.au/product.asp?pID=437&cID=79

The new B.strong in pregnancy and early life e-learning module has been developed to support frontline health and community workers to deliver smoking cessation, nutrition, and physical activity brief interventions to First Nations clients.

The program focuses on ‘whole of family’ health decision-making that will always be the best way to make sure that babies have a positive start in life. There are six short sessions of approximately ten minutes each. Each session covers a different aspect of the topic and includes activities and questions that help you better integrate your learning into your practice.

To access the free on-line training program visit https://insight.qld.edu.au/training/pregnancy-and-early-life/detail

At the completion of the training, you receive information on how to order the free B.strong for baby in pregnancy and early life booklet for First Nations parents. This booklet includes information on smoking, nutrition, and physical activity from week one of pregnancy through to when the child is two years of age. The booklet includes messages for Mum and Dad on the importance of staying healthy for the whole family.

New research: https://theconversation.com/touchscreens-may-make-toddlers-more-distractible-new-three-year-study-154036  

The three-year study looked at how often babies and toddlers used touchscreens and then measured their attention and eye movement when they were almost at pre-school age (three-and-a-half). Children with higher touchscreen use were both slower to deliberately control their attention, and less able to ignore distracting objects.

The researchers said more studies were needed and that it was hard to say whether daily use of touchscreens in infancy had caused the older children to be more distractible, or whether it was just a case of touchscreens being more appealing to certain children.

They cautioned, however, that there is still a lot we don’t know about the effects of touchscreens on brain development.

It’s important for parents to have support to engage children in the right balance of safe, interesting activities, and handle problems around reducing screen time (such as children having tantrums when devices are taken away).

The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program® can give parents specific information and strategies to help with both of these goals.

Parents can get a greater understanding of child development and behaviour in relation to many other issues too, by doing free Triple P Online in Queensland, or some other type of free Triple P: www.triplep-parenting.net