Assessing and attending to psychosocial concerns in genetic counseling: Proposing the BATHE method.

The process of identifying and responding to patients' social, emotional, and psychological concerns is a required skill for training and practicing genetic counselors. Patients' health outcomes are improved when genetic counselors attend to these "psychosocial" concerns. Still, the process of eliciting, assessing, and attending to patients' psychosocial concerns in the genetic counseling setting is not well defined in the literature nor is it performed consistently.

Knowledge and attitudes on implementing cardiovascular pharmacogenomic testing.

Pharmacogenomics has the potential to inform drug dosing and selection, reduce adverse events, and improve medication efficacy; however, provider knowledge of pharmacogenomic testing varies across provider types and specialties. Given that many actionable pharmacogenomic genes are implicated in cardiovascular medication response variability, this study aimed to evaluate cardiology providers' knowledge and attitudes on implementing clinical pharmacogenomic testing. Sixty-one providers responded to an online survey, including pharmacists (46%), physicians (31%), genetic counselors (15%), and nurses (8%).

Molecular testing in newborn screening: VUS burden among true positives and secondary reproductive limitations via expanded carrier screening panels.

Purpose: Expanded carrier screening (ECS) gene panels have several limitations, including variable content, current knowledge of disease-causing variants, and differing reporting policies. This study evaluated if the disease-associated variants identified in affected neonates who screened positive by California newborn screening (NBS) for an inherited metabolic disorder (IMD) by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) would likely be reported by ECS gene panels.

Methods: Retrospective review of neonates referred by the California Department of Public Health for a positive NBS by multianalyte MS/MS from January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.

A report of the AGCPD task force to evaluate associations between select admissions requirements, demographics, and performance on ABGC certification examination.

Graduation from a genetic counseling graduate program accredited by the Accreditation Council of Genetic Counseling and certification obtained by passing the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) certification examination are increasingly required to practice as a genetic counselor in the USA. Despite the ABGC certification examination serving as a gateway to the genetic counseling career, there have been no research studies to date that have examined what variables are associated with examination performance. Therefore, the Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors established a Task Force to assess whether trainee demographics, Grade point average (GPA) and Graduate Record Exam (GRE®) percentile scores are associated with passing the ABGC certification examination on the first attempt.

Contributors to and consequences of burnout among clinical genetic counselors in the United States.

Prior research has found that many genetic counselors (GCs) experience burnout. Studies of other clinicians have demonstrated that burnout can have significant detrimental consequences for clinicians, patients, and the healthcare system. We sought to explore the prevalence of, contributors to, and consequences of burnout among GCs.

Utility of a virtual counselor (VICKY) to collect family health histories among vulnerable patient populations: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: This study is a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of a virtual counselor (VICKY) to the My Family Health Portrait (MFHP) tool for collecting family health history (FHx).

Methods: A total of 279 participants were recruited from a large safety-net hospital and block randomized by health literacy to use one of the digital FHx tools, followed by a genetic counselor interview. A final sample of 273 participants were included for analyses of primary study aims pertaining to tool concordance, which assessed agreement between tool and genetic counselor.

Genetic counselors' attitudes toward and practice related to psychiatric genetic counseling.

Despite the high demand for psychiatric genetic counseling among people with psychiatric conditions (>90%), surveys show that genetic counselors rarely receive primary referrals for psychiatric cases. The purpose of this study was to further investigate potential barriers to the provision of psychiatric genetic counseling services, focusing specifically on the prevalence and impact of psychiatric stigmatization among genetic counselors. Board-certified, practicing genetic counselors were invited to participate in an anonymous survey via the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

Genomic education for the next generation of health-care providers.

Historically, medical geneticists and genetic counselors have provided the majority of genetic services. Advances in technology, reduction in testing costs, and increased public awareness have led to a growing demand for genetic services in both clinical and direct-to-consumer spaces. Recent and anticipated changes in the workforce of genetic counselors and medical geneticists require a reexamination of the way we educate health-care providers and the means by which we provide access to genetic services.

Cancer genetic counselors' experiences with transgender patients: A qualitative study.

It is becoming increasingly common for people to openly identify as transgender, yet there is little research in the field of genetic counseling regarding this community's unique medical needs. Transgender patients are likely to present with issues that cross genetics and gender-related care in a cancer genetic counseling session, and empiric data about these differences is needed to provide adequate care. In order to investigate what specific health topics and concerns are addressed in cancer genetic counseling sessions with transgender patients, 21 cancer genetic counselors who have seen transgender patients were interviewed.

Experiences of Genetic Counselors Practicing in Rural Areas.

In-person genetic counseling clinics in rural areas are likely to improve access to genetic counseling in underserved regions, but studies have not previously examined how these clinics function or described the experience of practicing in a rural setting. The present mixed-methods study explored the professional experiences of clinical genetic counselors who practice in rural areas, including the benefits and challenges of practicing in these settings and the counselors' motivations for doing so. The authors surveyed 20 genetic counselors who self-reported working in rural areas and conducted interviews with six individuals whose workplaces were confirmed as rural per RUCA code.

Mid-career faculty development in academic medicine: How does it impact faculty and institutional vitality?

Purpose: Faculty vitality is integral to the advancement of higher education. Strengthening vitality is particularly important for mid-career faculty, who represent the largest and most dissatisfied segment. The demands of academic medicine appear to be another factor that may put faculty at risk of attrition.

Confirmed versus suspected: The social significance of a genetic or non-genetic diagnosis of mitochondrial disease.

This study assessed attitudes and beliefs regarding the importance of a genetic versus non-genetic diagnosis within the mitochondrial disease community. Survey respondents were categorized into two groups - those with a genetic diagnosis, and those with a non-genetic diagnosis of mitochondrial disease. We found that while both groups perceive problems with the support available to adult mitochondrial disease patients, the non-genetic group experiences less medical and social support due to lack of a definitive diagnosis.

Emerging Genetic Counselor Roles within the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries: as Industry Interest Grows in Rare Genetic Disorders, How are Genetic Counselors Joining the Discussion?

Traditionally, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry (BPI) has focused drug development at the mass-market level targeting common medical issues. However, a recent trend is the development of therapies for orphan or rare disorders, including many genetic disorders. Developing treatments for genetic disorders requires an understanding of the needs of the community and translating genomic information to clinical and non-clinical audiences.

Acceptability and feasibility of a virtual counselor (VICKY) to collect family health histories.

Purpose: To overcome literacy-related barriers in the collection of electronic family health histories, we developed an animated Virtual Counselor for Knowing your Family History, or VICKY. This study examined the acceptability and accuracy of using VICKY to collect family histories from underserved patients as compared with My Family Health Portrait (MFHP).

Methods: Participants were recruited from a patient registry at a safety net hospital and randomized to use either VICKY or MFHP.

Mothers' perspectives on their child's mental illness as compared to other complex disorders in their family: insights to inform genetic counseling practice.

To facilitate the development of a therapeutic alliance in genetic counseling, it is important that the counselor understands how families might perceive the condition that constitutes the reason for the referral. Through training and professional practice, genetic counselors develop a thorough understanding of families' perceptions of the conditions that are common indications for genetic counseling. But, for referral indications that are less frequent, like serious mental illnesses, genetic counselors may feel less confident in their understanding of the family's experience, or in their ability to provide psychosocial support when serious mental illness is reported in a family history.

Transition to the clinical doctorate: attitudes of the genetic counseling training program directors in North America.

In North America, genetic counseling is an allied health profession where entry level practitioners currently must hold a master's degree earned from a graduate program accredited by the American Board of Genetic Counseling. This is one of many health care professions that could transition to an entry level clinical doctorate degree. This study explored the attitudes of genetic counseling training program directors toward such a transition.