What is Genetic Counseling?
Genetic counseling is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease.
This process integrates:
- Interpretation of family and medical histories to assess the chance of disease occurrence or recurrence.
- Education about inheritance, testing, management, prevention, resources, and research.
- Counseling to promote informed choices and adaptation to the risk or condition.
Who are Genetic Counselors?
Genetic counselors are Master’s-trained health care professionals who combine their knowledge of basic science, medical genetics, epidemiological principles, and counseling theory with their skills in genetic risk assessment, education, interpersonal communication, and counseling to provide services to clients and their families for a diverse set of genetic or genomic indications.
Genetic counselors are employed in many settings such as university medical centers, community clinics, physician offices, health maintenance organizations, advocacy organizations, governmental agencies, public health departments, and biotechnology companies. Those in clinical practice provide education and counseling in such areas as reproductive genetics, pediatric genetics, newborn screening follow-up, cancer genetics, neurogenetics, and cardiovascular genetics. Many genetic counselors are also actively involved in teaching and clinical research. The profession is growing rapidly with the number of certified genetic counselors increasing 100% since 2006. Demand continues to rise as well, with 3-4 job openings for every graduate.
Job satisfaction is high in genetic counseling. Almost 90% of genetic counselors reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their job in a recent survey. Respondents were most satisfied with the following aspects of the profession: scientific content, patient counseling/contact, learning opportunities, and the opportunity for personal growth.