Stanford University School of Medicine announced earlier this week that it would be offering a new class on genetic testing, in which students would be able to get their own DNA tested by personal genomics companies and then learn to interpret the results.

Students would first learn about the legal and ethical issues in DNA testing, and then would have the option of getting an analysis of their own DNA from personal genomics companies 23andMe or Navigenics – and paying $99 for the privilege – or working with publicly available genomic data instead to learn how to interpret the results of such tests.

One wonders whether classes like these will soon become the norm for doctors in training. As the importance of genomics in health care grows, there has been a call to better train medical professionals to interpret such information for patients – and what better way to do so than with their own DNA? According to Stanford’s announcement, the course, to be offered this summer as an elective, is the first of its kind. Genomeweb points out, however, that the University of Pennsylvania recently offered a similar course. And last year, Harvard Medical School set up a program in which medical residents could also receive training on interpreting results of personal genomics tests by offering up their own DNA for study.

Stanford says its course was proposed by a student, and that a task force spent a year considering the risks and instituting safeguards to protect students from feeling coerced into participating. Meanwhile, last month, vociferous debate ensued when the University of California, Berkeley, said it would offer incoming freshmen and transfer students a similar learning opportunity. This summer, the undergraduates will receive a cotton swab in the mail with their welcome packets, which they can choose to send in to test for three genes metabolizing alcohol, lactose and folates. A Berkeley-based organization, the Center for Genetics and Society, immediately called for the program’s suspension, saying the tests weren’t yet well regulated and shouldn’t be interpreted without a medical professional.

Indeed, sometimes even a medical professional isn’t enough. Speaking to a group of science writers earlier this week, Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health, said he had sent in a saliva sample under a pseudonym to three different personal genomics companies – DecodeMe, 23andMe and Navigenics. While reports from all three companies said he was at high risk for diabetes, he got back three different risk levels – low, average, and higher than average – for prostate cancer.