2021 National Society of Genetic Counselors Presidential Address: The Dance of Genetic Counseling

Abstract

Good afternoon to the virtual community. I am Heather Zierhut, your incoming President for 2022, and I'd like to stop for a minute to appreciate the amazing dancers in this video. Thank you to past supervisors, former students, and fellow NSGC members. I hope the video brought some joy and sparked your interest.Those of you who know me well know that I love to sing and dance. One of my favorite songs that you heard on the video is by Alicia Keys--Love Looks Better. She said of the inspiration behind her song, 'I think we got so busy [referring to pre-pandemic life], so used to flying so fast that we forgot. We forgot to look at each other, we forgot to stay with each other, listen to each other', and 'It's time to really be present for each other' (Legaspi, 2020). As your incoming President, I want you to know that I am ready to listen and to be fully present.

Unlocking the next phase of development for our profession: Developing and consolidating the recognition of genetic counseling as a rigorous area of academic study

“…While it is truly an exciting marker of recognition that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is specifically funding genetic counseling research, a recent study published in this journal demonstrated that most of the grants that have been funded by NIH in this category are led by nongenetic counselors (Zierhut et al., 2024). Over time, I hope that we see more of this work being led by genetic counselors.…”

Defining “genetic counseling research”

“…People who are NOT genetic counselors can − and do − generate work that feels very much like it should be considered “genetic counseling research (Lambert et al., 2022; Larson et al., 2023; Zierhut et al., 2024)”…”