As medical research continues to actively search for cures and better treatment options, how can you as a nurse provide the best care possible for your patients?

Chronic Health Problems and the Link to Genetic Nursing CareDisease prevention can easily be considered the best path toward a cure, but there are some diseases to which many people are hereditarily more susceptible. Chronic health problems, many of which have yet to be cured, show up in hospitals and clinics frequently. As medical research continues to actively search for cures and better treatment options, how can you as a nurse provide the best care possible for your patients? Do you know the risks related to misdiagnosis for a patient who suffers from a chronic disease? What can a nurse do to help the patient live comfortably with chronic diseases? Health care continues to develop through research efforts that find new treatment options. In addition, advances in genetic and genomic connections to health and illness are influencing nursing practice and becoming a routine part of taking a patient’s family history. When a nurse notices a genetic predisposition to an illness, he or she can take the opportunity to begin educating the patient as well as being more aware of possible signs and symptoms of onset.