Perspectives
Rachel Mador-House
The genetic testing industry, while promising in its potential to advance healthcare, has also been plagued by challenges such as layoffs, budget cuts, and uncertainty. My journey in this sector began with enthusiasm but eventually led to burnout and apathy. Seeking to reignite my passion for genetics and make a meaningful impact, I embarked on a career pivot towards the environmental field. Continue reading My Career Pivot...
Colleen Campbell, PhD, MS, CGC; Angela Trepanier, MS, CGC
NSGC’s Board of Directors held a Hill Day on Tuesday, May 7. In preparation for meetings with Congressional offices, we reached out to genetic counseling program directors regarding the current status of 2024 graduating students hired into the genetic counseling workforce. Continue reading 2024 President's Call...
Timbria Burke (she/her)
As a Black first-year genetic counseling student, I am constantly delving into articles and papers for my coursework. Repeatedly encountering demographic information that categorizes participants as "Black/African American" in the "Race/Ethnicity" sections has become a source of frustration for me. Continue reading "Black/African American"...
Journal of Genetic Counseling
Erin Griffin, Gillian Hooker, Matthew Grace, Kimberly Kaphingst, Digna Velez Edwards, Zhiguo Zhao, Jill Slamon
Non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) using cell-free DNA is a screening test for fetal aneuploidy offered by a variety of prenatal healthcare providers. Guidelines for genetic screening consistently recommend that providers facilitate informed choices, which have been associated with better psychological and clinical outcomes than uninformed choices. Continue reading What knowledge is...
Katherine N. Hehmeyer, Heather Zierhut, Robert Dedrick, Marleah Dean, Kathryn Schwarting, Katie Sullivan Bellia, Deborah Cragun
Genetic counseling (GC) relies on communication to help people understand and adapt to genetic contributions of disease, and there is need for a practical and reliable method of comprehensively documenting GC communication skills without intensive coding. To this end, we created a novel process measure called the Genetic Counseling Skills Checklist (GCSC), utilizing previously validated measures, communication/counseling frameworks, and prior research findings. Continue reading The development and preliminary...
Tinsley Claire Douglas, Caitlyn May, Karin Dent, John C. Carey, Janessa Mladucky
Difficult news has been described as any news that adversely and seriously affects an individual's view of their future. Research in oncology genetic counseling demonstrated that individuals do not prefer in-person or telephone delivery of their genetic test results. Continue reading Prenatal Patient Perceptions...