Some journeys in healthcare start with a textbook. Others begin with a patient. For Dr.Teofila (Tootie) Bueser, it was both—a nursing degree earned in the Philippines and an encounter with a patient that would chart the course of her pioneering career in genomics and cardiac care.
Now the Director of Nursing and Midwifery for the South East Genomic Medicine Service Alliance (GMSA), Dr.Bueser wears more than one hat. She is also a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Academic and a fierce advocate for integrating genomics into everyday nursing and midwifery practice. But long before she became one of the UK’s most influential nurse leaders in genomics, she was a curious, research-minded student inspired by the stories and resilience of patients.
“I always knew I wanted to do something in research,” she said in a recent episode of the Road to Genome Podcast. “And I also loved to travel.” Nursing, it turns out, satisfied both passions.
Born and educated in the Philippines, Dr. Bueser came from a family where nursing was a calling and academics were revered. “A lot of my family were nurses scattered around the world,” she shared. “I saw how fulfilling it was—how they stuck with it. That told me something about the profession.”
She began her UK nursing career over two decades ago in a district general hospital in Wiltshire. She was a cardiac rehabilitation nurse, working with post-heart attack and heart failure patients, that a pivotal moment arrived: a patient with a rare inherited cardiac condition. “I was trying to develop an exercise plan for him, but I quickly realized that exercise was a risk factor for his condition. I didn’t know what to do,” she recalled. That patient, who was an expert in his own condition and active in a patient support group, introduced her to the genetic dimensions of his diagnosis—and to the broader world of inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs).
That spark led her to London, where she became an Inherited Cardiac Conditions Nurse providing a cardiac genetics service to patients across King’s College Hospital and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital. “That was my start in genetics,” she said. “From then on, I was hooked.”
As she deepened her expertise in inherited cardiac care, Dr. Bueser started noticing patterns beyond physical symptoms—patients talking about communication barriers, the stress of explaining risk to family members, and the lack of psychosocial support. It became clear that while the medical care was strong, the emotional and educational needs were often unmet. “They weren’t necessarily anxious or depressed,” she said. “They just needed help communicating diagnosis, understanding risk, and getting support.”
This led her to pursue a PhD focused on the psychoeducational needs of patients with inherited cardiac conditions. Even while researching, she continued working in the clinic, grounding her research in lived patient experiences. “Doing the PhD helped me get even closer to my patients,” she said.
Her leadership didn’t stop there. She became the Associate Director for Nursing and Allied Health Professionals for Clinical Research at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital during the height of COVID-19. There, she helped cultivate a research-positive culture during one of the most difficult times for frontline healthcare workers. “It was challenging,” she admitted, “but it also showed how research could offer real, immediate solutions.”
Today, as Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the South East GMSA, Dr. Bueser is on a mission: to demystify genomics for nurses and midwives and ensure patients benefit from cutting-edge care. Her work spans from Kent, Surrey and Sussex and all of South London. “The first reaction I get when I talk about genomics is that ‘it’s for advanced practice’,” she said. “But my view is that it’s fundamental. We’re already using it—we just may not know we are.”
She’s not just talking the talk. Under her leadership, the GMSA has spearheaded a number of impactful projects. One focused on mainstreaming testing for Lynch syndrome, enabling faster diagnosis and treatment for patients and families. Another targeted monogenic diabetes in pregnancy, equipping specialist midwives to identify women whose care could be improved through genetic insights. “And in cardiac care,” she adds, “we’re developing multi-level training to raise awareness and to support counselling skills for nurses caring for those impacted by inherited cardiac conditions.”
Despite the rapid advancements in the field, she acknowledges that implementation can be slow and complex. “The pathways can be clunky,” she said candidly. “We see the developments in the news but making them available to patients is the real challenge.”
Yet it’s these challenges that drive her. “There’s so much potential in genomics to improve how we prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Nurses and midwives play a key role in delivering this.”
Reflecting on her roots, Dr. Bueser is clear about how being internationally educated shaped her resilience and perspective. “Good education is good education, wherever it comes from,” she said. “Being trained in the Philippines made me academically prepared and culturally adaptive. In a diverse society like Britain, that’s a strength.”
To internationally educated nurses, she offers encouragement: “You may face hurdles—language tests, credential recognition—but there are ways around it. If I could get a PhD here, so can you.”
She also encourages all nurses and midwives to embrace genomics and research. “Don’t be afraid of genomics. You probably already use it in practice. And research isn’t just for scientists in labs—it’s for clinicians who want to improve care. You know where the gaps are. Explore your own research questions and lead the change.”
So what does a good day look like for Dr. Bueser? “It’s when I meet a nurse or midwife doing extraordinary work—really pushing the boundaries in genomics. Or when patients tell us our work helped them. That means everything.”
And her message for the future of nursing and midwifery?
“Stay curious. Stay passionate. And don’t underestimate your role. Whether you’re at the bedside, in research, or leading national initiatives, you have the power to transform healthcare.”
From a curious nurse in the Philippines to a national genomics leader in the UK, Dr. Tootie Bueser is living proof that genomics belongs in every part of nursing—and that the future of healthcare will be written by nurses who dare to lead.
