In a world where genomic medicine is advancing at breakneck speed, many medical graduates have gaps in the fundamentals they will need to diagnose and treat their patients.
Medical Genetics has ceased to be a marginal specialty to become the transversal axis of modern medicine. From personalized medicine to gene therapies, genetic knowledge increasingly underpins clinical decisions.
However, there is a worrying paradox: while genetics becomes more relevant, medical students struggle to retain its fundamental content. What prevents future doctors from assimilating the knowledge that will determine their professional practice?
The Cuban research, which examined 51 fifth and sixth year medical students, discovered alarming patterns in the loss of essential knowledge. The future doctors had already taken and passed the Medical Genetics course in their second year, but upon reaching the clinical cycles, they showed significant gaps 3 .
The applied pedagogical test revealed that 84.2% of students had scarce mastery of the molecular and cellular bases of inheritance, fundamental knowledge for understanding the mechanisms of genetic diseases 3 .
The data, obtained from research published in 2020, reflects that concepts such as translation (essential for understanding protein synthesis) were only remembered by less than 20% of the surveyed students 3 .
The study identified several critical factors that explain these deficiencies in knowledge retention:
Students reported that traditional methods focused on memorization rather than applied reasoning predominated. The scarce use of innovative teaching media and the lack of connection with real clinical situations hindered learning significance 3 .
The very nature of genetics, with abstract and rapidly evolving concepts, represents a pedagogical challenge. Students pointed out deficiencies in the bibliographic materials available, which were not always updated with the latest advances 3 .
One of the most significant findings was the disconnection between the contents taught and their application in future professional performance. Students did not visualize the practical utility of this knowledge for clinical reasoning, which undermined their motivation to learn it 3 .
The research recommends implementing teaching-learning strategies where active methods that place the student at the center of the process predominate. The use of problem situations contextualized in real clinical scenarios allows linking genetic knowledge with its practical application 3 .
The incorporation of augmented and virtual reality offers promising opportunities to create realistic simulations of molecular genetic processes. Studies indicate that students who use VR simulations show 30% better performance in practical skills compared to those who receive traditional training 2 .
Better performance in practical skills
Given that the curriculum demands diagnosing health problems based on knowledge of basic biomedical sciences, transversal integration of genetics content throughout the entire degree is recommended, reinforcing its application in different clinical contexts 3 .
Basic genetics principles integrated with anatomy and physiology
Genetic diagnosis and counseling in various medical specialties
Personalized medicine, pharmacogenetics, and genomic technologies
The need to improve training in Medical Genetics has led the Ministry of Health of Spain to approve in June 2025 the creation of the specialties of Medical Genetics and Laboratory Genetics .
These new specialties, with a duration of four years, represent a historical milestone in the consolidation of personalized medicine in Spain. Medical Genetics will be reserved for Medicine graduates, while Laboratory Genetics will be open to graduates in Medicine, Pharmacy, Biology, Chemistry and Veterinary .
Technological advancement has provided specialists with increasingly sophisticated tools for the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases:
| Tool or Technology | Function and Application |
|---|---|
| Whole Genome Sequencing | Identification of genetic variants associated with diseases |
| CRISPR-Cas9 | Precise gene editing for mutation correction |
| Artificial Intelligence | Analysis of genomic data and patterns associated with diseases |
| Messenger RNA | Development of vaccines and therapies for genetic diseases |
| Nanoparticles | Vehicles for targeted gene therapy |
These tools are revolutionizing the approach to genetic diseases. For example, in 2024 positive results have been obtained in gene therapies for conditions such as Fanconi anemia and some types of hereditary deafness, while artificial intelligence has demonstrated 94% accuracy in detecting breast cancer in mammograms 5 2 .
Accuracy in breast cancer detection
The II Ibero-American Congress of Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine, which will take place in Murcia in October 2025, will address the major current and future challenges in this discipline, including global genomics projects, advances in pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine, as well as the ethical implications of these advances 4 .
The growing importance of genetics in medical practice makes it urgent to address the problems of content retention during training. Advances in this field will not be of much use if the doctors of the future do not have the necessary bases to understand and apply them.
The challenge is complex, but the advancement of medicine depends on us addressing it with determination and creativity.