Perspectives
Invisible Illness: The Whole Story from a Genetic Counselor-Turned-Patient
Jessica Isaacs, MS, LCGC
For my entire life, I have been great at dropping things, horrible at sleeping, and debatably the spazziest being to walk the Earth. For the longest time, I attributed all of this to my own weirdness, but when I went for my genetic counseling master’s degree, I started to wonder if there was more to the story.
Read more.
The Changing Face of State Licensure for Genetic Counselors: Resources and Tips
Molly Marra, PhD, MS, ; Josie Minick, MS, CGC ; Melanie Hardy, MS, MS, CGC
With clinical genetic counselors serving patients across broad geographic areas, the question of state licensure can become daunting. Which states require licensure, and which don’t? What does licensure look like for a genetic counselor who hasn’t yet passed the board exam? What are the requirements to initially obtain licensure, and how can genetic counselors make sure to stay current with each state? Read more.
Federal Advocacy Q&A
Colleen Campbell, PhD, MS, LGC; Antonina Wojcik, CGC (she/her); Katie Lange, MS, CGC (she/her)
With each new Congressional session bills need to be re-introduced, and the lead bill sponsor generally is from the majority party. As a result, NSGC is having conversations with potential lead Republican bill sponsors from the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees who will introduce the Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act in collaboration with our lead Democratic sponsor, Representative Higgins (D-NY). We will keep you updated with special announcements about the new lead bill sponsor and the new House and Senate bill numbers when the bill is reintroduced. Read more.
Journal of Genetic Counseling
Comparison of Genetic Testing Documentation Between Genetic Counselors and Non-Genetic Counselors
Jessica Feldman, Chinmayee Bhimarao Nagaraj, Kathleen Collins, Emily Wakefield, Hua He, Melanie Myers, Katie Wusik
Implementation of genetic testing in healthcare increases, but access to, and number of, genetics providers remain scarce. This study analyzed the impact of genetic counselor (GC) involvement on frequency of documentation of pre- and post-test counseling of genetic testing between GCs and genetics providers (GPs), and GCs and non-genetics providers (NGPs).
Read more.
Stagnation in Quality of Next-Generation Sequencing Assays for the Diagnosis of Hereditary Hematopoietic Malignancies
Gregory W. Roloff, Reid Shaw, Timothy E. O'Connor, Feighanne Hathaway, Michael W. Drazer
Hereditary hematopoietic malignancies (HHMs) are inherited syndromes that confer the risk of blood cancer development. With the rapid acceleration of next-generation sequencing (NGS) into commercial biotechnology markets, HHMs are increasingly recognized by genetic counselors and clinicians. Read more.
Factors that Influence the Management Recommendations Breast Surgeons Provide to Women with Pathogenic Variants in Moderate Penetrance Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes
April Vanderwal, Jaime Lewis, Janet Basil, Carrie Atzinger, Kimberly Widmeyer
Pathogenic variants in moderate penetrance breast cancer susceptibility genes, such as ATM and CHEK2, confer a two- to five-fold increased lifetime risk for breast cancer. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has guidelines for breast surgeons to utilize when counseling women with pathogenic variants in these genes; however, previous studies indicate that other factors impact breast surgeons' recommendations to patients. Read more.