Published nursing and medical literature.
The premise of nursing assessment is the same as that of biomarker use - biological variables that appear at one level of biological organization (eg, molecule, organelle, cell, tissue, organ, and organism) correspond to processes or events occurring at other levels of biologic organization. The advent of genomic technologies has logarithmically increased the volume of biomarkers, which are expected to provide new insights that improve patient care.
Nurses and patients will benefit greatly from the incorporation of molecular biomarkers into patient care. Nurses will be able to better assess (and anticipate) patient needs with the new insights that are available in the post-genomic, personalized medicine era of health care. Although the rapid rate of technological changes and new discoveries will require continuing concerted educational efforts, the improved quality of patient care will be rewarded by better outcomes.