On June 11 2015 the Israeli Society of Medical Genetics National Conference took place at the The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. The conference was organized by Prof. Stavit Allon-Shalev, the principal TEMPUS MEDGEN investigator for Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. This meeting served as an excellent platform for Israeli, Armenian and European TEMPUS MEDGEN partners to exchange knowledge and to advance ideas related to education in medical genetics. The conference served as a dissemination event of TEMPUS MEDGEN project scope and achievements.
The conference brought together 200 experts in medical genetics, laboratory medicine, genetic counseling and medical education. Participants from across Israel, Armenia, United States and Austria represented academic research institutions, hospitals, national health care organizations, patient organizations and industry. The goal of the afternoon session was to promote public awareness on the topic of education in medical genetics and to spread the knowledge about TEMPUS MEDGEN. This session focused on Israeli and Austrian experience in education of medical genetic professionals and well as non-geneticist health professionals and included the following presentations:
- Genetic services and specialist training in Austria - presented by Dr. Thomas Schwarzbraun from the Medical University of Graz
- Education of non-geneticist physicians on current topics in medical genetics - presented by Dr. Idit Maya from Rabin Medical Center
- Development of MSc program for genetic counselors in Israel at the Tel Aviv University - presented by Dr. Michal Berkenstet from Tel Aviv University
- MSc program in genetic counseling: Hadassah Medical Center experience - presented by Shirley Shkedi from Hadassah Medical Center
Throughout the conference, the TEMPUS MEDGEN project working group debated the importance and rapidly growing needs for education in medical genetics and modern educational approaches. It has been emphasized that genetic counselors are expected to play a critical role in facilitating genome-guided preventive medicine into mainstream patient care. The participants also discussed the progress of the TEMPUS MEDGEN project as well as the strategies for the upcoming joint actions.