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POLICY

Ethics Consult Request Form

The National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) is pleased to offer its members the opportunity to request an ethics consult through its Ethics Inquiry Review Program (Program). Under the Program, members in good standing have the opportunity to request input from their peers on ethical questions arising under the NSGC Code of Ethics (Code) and encountered in their practice.

NSGC assumes no liability for any injury and/or damage to reputation, persons or property arising out of or related to participation in the Program or the implementation or reliance on any information included in a Response.  

Ethics Inquiry Review Request Form

Program Description

NSGC Board of Directors appoints seven NSGC members and one non-member bioethicist advisor to serve on the NSGC Ethics Advisory Group (Group) each year.  The Group’s purpose is to serve as an educational resource to the Board and membership on matters involving ethical concerns arising under the Code. Generally, the Group: (i) reviews, updates, and applies the Code both to individual NSGC members in their practice as well as to NSGC in its management functions and interactions with members and the general public; and (ii) works to develop, maintain, and publish educational information regarding the range of ethical confronting genetic counselors.

As part of its function, the Group is available to respond to eligible inquires submitted through the Program. NSGC members in good standing that agree to abide by the terms of the Program, may submit a written ethics inquiry to NSGC seeking the Group’s insight into the interpretation and application of the Code to an ethical situation faced by the member. Inquiries must be based on an accurate and complete set of facts actually encountered by the member in the course of his or her practice. Inquiries must strictly adhere to HIPAA requirements and may not include any personally identifiable information (medical or otherwise) about a patient, patient’s relatives or friends, or other individuals or organizations and must not identify the member’s employer. Only inquiries seeking input with respect to the applicability of a specific section of the Code will be considered. Inquiries that do not meet the Program’s requirements will not be reviewed.

NSGC will review inquiries submitted through the Program and, if appropriate, refer them to the Group. A subcommittee of the Group will review each eligible inquiry and prepare a written response that applies the ethical requirements set forth in the Code to the facts described in the inquiry (Response). Inquiries will be reviewed and a response provided within three (3) weeks of the date of the request. 

Responses will not include specific advice or directives but are meant to provide NSGC members with information they can use in connection with developing a plan to handle the ethical issue in question. NSGC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (i) reject an inquiry for any reason; or (ii) decide not to issue a Response to an inquiry.

NSGC (through the Group) offers such Response as an educational tool and service to NSGC’s members. Neither NSGC nor the Group dispenses practice, legal, medical, employment or any other type of advice or opinion and members participating in the Program may not rely on any Response received. Additionally, variations in practice, which take into account the needs of individual patients, genetic counselors, institutions and the resources and limitations unique to the health care setting, may warrant approaches that differ from the information provided in the Response. Therefore, information contained in a Response should not be interpreted as an exclusive interpretation of the Code nor the exclusive appropriate course of action. Reliance on any information included in the Response does not guarantee a particular outcome.

Ethics Advisory Group Members - 2024

Beth Peshkin.jpg

Amanda Back,
MS, LCGC (she/her)
Co-Chair

Years of GC Experience:
4 Years

GC Specialty:
Pediatric Neurology

Ethics Experience:
BA in Religious Studies with interest in religion and ethical precendent
NSGC Task Force for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)
JEDI Chair for Pennsylvania Association of Genetic Couselors (PAGC)
Interset in JEDI as it may relate to ethical precedent

Current Employer:
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia 

EAG Term
January 2023 through December 2025 

Beth Peshkin.jpg

Emily Lisi
(she/her)
Co-Chair

Years of Experience: 
21 Years

GC Specialty:
GC Education

Ethics Experience:
Master of Arts in Bioethics, Wake Forest University (2021)
Course Instructor, Ethics in Genetic Counseling, Wake Forest GENC program
Chapter author: Lisi EC and Dubois J. “Current Issues in Behavioral and Social Science Research Ethics”. Oxford Handbook of Research Ethics, Editors Douglas MacKay and Ana Iltis
IRB member, Emory University (2014-2016).

Current Employer:
Wake Forest University Graduate School for Arts and Sciences 

EAG Term:
January 2023 through December 2025

Beth Peshkin.jpg

Emily Dalton
MS, CGC (she/her)

Years of GC Experience:
15 Years 

GC Specialty:
Oncology, Medical Affairs 

Ethics Experience:
DFCI Ethics Advisory Committee (2011-2013)
DFCI Ethics Award
Georgetown University Bioethics Intensive Course Coordinator: BUGC Social, Cultural and Ethical Issues in Genetic Counseling (through 2017)

Current Employer:
Illumina 

EAG Term:
January 2022 through December 2024

Beth Peshkin.jpg

Rebecca Tryon
MS, MA, CGC (she/her)

Years of GC Experience:
10 Years 

GC Specialty:
Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplantation 

Ethics Experience:
Masters of Arts in Bioethics, University of Minnesota
UMMC/UMACH Ethics Committee Member (2013- Present)
University of Minnesota Course Instructor: Ethical & Legal Considerations in Medical Genetics & Genetic Counselor Course

Current Employer:
M Health Fairview 

EAG Term:
January 2022 through December 2024

Beth Peshkin.jpg

Rikki Caffrey
 

Years of GC Experience:
8 Years  

GC Specialty:
Oncology, Prenatal, Ethics 

Ethics Experience:
Director of Ethics Program of Advocate Health
D.Be and MA degrees in clinical ethics
Ethics Manager and Clinical Ethicist prior to Director role 

Current Employer:
Advocate Health

EAG Term:
January 2024 through December 2026

Beth Peshkin.jpg

Megan Horn
 

Years of GC Experience:
5 Years 

GC Specialty:
Reproductive, Oncology, Biopharma

Ethics Experience:
Masters of Arts Degree in Bioethics from Case Western Reserve University (2018) 
Guest lecturer for Northwestern University and the University of Maryland Genetic Counseling Program 

Current Employer:
Genome Medical 

EAG Term:
January 2024 through December 2026

 

Beth Peshkin.jpg

Colleen Wherley
MS, CGC (she/her)

Years of GC Experience:
9 Years 

GC Specialty:
Oncology, Prenatal, Pediatrics, Industry

Ethics Experience:
Member of Children’s Minnesota Ethics Committee 2017-2019.
Co-Chair of Children’s Minnesota  Ethics Committee 2020-2021.

Current Employer:
Myriad Genetics 

EAG Term:
January 2023 through December 2025

Ethics Inquiries: Additional Resources

American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB)
bioethics.net

AJOB editors' blog
blog.bioethics.net

The President's Council on Bioethics
Bioethics.gov

NIH Bioethics Resources on the Web
www.nih.gov/sigs/bioethics

NHGRI Online Bioethics Resources
genome.gov/10001744

Hastings Center
www.thehastingscenter.org

Kennedy Institute of Ethics
kennedyinstitute.georgetown.edu

University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics
www.bioethics.umn.edu

University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics
bioethics.upenn.edu

Kennedy Institute of Ethics/NRCBL Library and Information Services
https://kennedyinstitute.georgetown.edu/

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