Media Kit

November 23, 2000

Pat Ward, MS, CGC
President American Board of Genetic Counseling
9650 Rockville Pike Rockville, MD 20814-3998

Dear Ms. Ward,

I am writing in response to your letter of 11/2/00 regarding NSGC's position on the Institute for Clinical Evaluation (ICE) proposed credential in clinical cancer genetics.

The NSGC supports unequivocally the American Board of Genetic Counseling's role as "the national credentialing standard for the genetic counseling profession".

The NSGC shares the concerns enumerated in your response to the John Norcini, the executive vice president of ICE, including possible consumer confusion between ICE credentialed individuals and ABGC certified practitioners, and the significance of the ICE credential. We have drafted a letter, which we will copy to you, pledging our support of your efforts to protect the interests of our patients, as well as the integrity and significance of the ABGC certification process.

While we support this collaboration and increased dialogue between our organizations, we must also acknowledge the differences in our missions and constituencies. By definition, the ABGC must look out for the interests of their diplomates. The NSGC, in contrast, is responsible for representing the interests of all of its members, including those who have not achieved board certification. We cannot disenfranchise a portion of our membership because their opinions differ from those of the ABGC.

NSGC members have expressed strong differences of opinion about the proposed credential, and I believe the membership will be unable to arrive at a consensus. NSGC does not, however, endorse the ICE exam, and does not anticipate offering the exam in conjunction with NSGC annual or regional conferences.

The NSGC membership has voiced strong support for the ABGC to consider developing specialty exams in conjunction with ABGC certification. It is clear that the ICE clinical cancer genetics examination is unlikely to be the last credentialing opportunity made available to health care providers. As genetic counselors continue to specialize, the development of exams in subspecialties such as neurogenetics, perinatal genetics, cancer genetics, and cardiovascular genetics would allow for a proactive approach to ensuring the value and marketability of the ABGC certification process. This is especially important as we wait for more states to follow California's lead in adopting legislation supporting licensure of genetic counselors.

One final note. In regard to NSGC members who have provided services to ICE, I would encourage the ABGC to accept that we wear many different hats in our professional lives. The president-elect has signed and honored a conflict of interest statement regarding her roles in NSGC and ICE; notably, she has not attempted to influence the NSGC board of directors or members nor sway opinion regarding the ICE credentialing process.

The NSGC would like to pledge its support to you as you address the ICE board of directors, and look forward to the outcome of this meeting. Please do not hesitate to contact me if the ABGC wishes to discuss these issues in greater detail.

Sincerely,

Vivian J. Weinblatt, MS, CGC
President
National Society of Genetic Counselors

Return to News Room