 Nurse educators, how can genomic competency be assessed? It's my opportunity to provide some additional information on how we as nursing educators can assess genomic competencies. With the publication of the new essentials by the American Association of Colleges on Nursing, our profession is moving towards a new model of competency-based education. Competencies are the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors that contribute to a nurse's performance. Transitioning to this new model presents an ideal time to ensure nursing students have the foundational genomic competencies needed to enter the practice environment. In nursing education, we must also consider the novice-to-expert model developed by Dr. Patricia Benner. Assessment of genomic competency acquisition can also be viewed through the same five levels of proficiency, novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. Teaching and assessment strategies for each of these stages can be scaffolded to help students gain skills and knowledge as they progress through each stage. Let me illustrate how we can map course objectives to the AACN Essentials Domain of Person-Centered Care while keeping in mind levels of proficiency as students demonstrate competency attainment. Gerald is a second-year nursing student who is taking his first clinical course health assessment. In this course, students must show competency by utilizing interviewing skills and assessment skills to elicit a comprehensive health history. At the novice level, Gerald was able to identify and gather essential components of a person's individual health history. Meanwhile, Sophia is in her fourth and final year of her undergraduate nursing program and enrolled in a leadership course where students must apply strategies for increased collaborative practices. At a competent level, Sophia was able to obtain a full patient and family health history and discern a relative hereditary risk. She was then able to advocate for genetic counseling for this family. Monique is a family nurse practitioner student about to graduate and take her licensure exam. Monique is enrolled in the Transitioning to Advanced Practice course. One course objective requires students to evaluate healthcare clinical process and practice problems and identify possible solutions. Monique works alongside her preceptor in a rural clinic located in parts of Appalachia. Most of their patients hesitate to obtain genetic testing when warranted. Monique demonstrates expert communication skills to gain trust and develop a variety of modalities to improve the genomic literacy of the patients that she serves. Whether your school of nursing has a concentrated genomic course or genetics and genomic information is threaded throughout the curriculum, these examples identify ways that genomic competency skills can be observed and assessed in the clinical setting. As you can see, competencies mature over time and become more sophisticated with ongoing practice. Within the classroom, we can also assess proficiency levels for baseline and advancing competency attainment through case studies, simulation activities, and even validated assessment tools. See other FAQs in this section for more details on resources and ideas on ways to map and assess genomic competencies within this new model. And I encourage you to explore all the FAQs that encompass rich information for practicing nurses just entering the field or have an advanced degree.