Genetic counseling education at the undergraduate level: An outreach initiative to promote professional recruitment and support workforce development

Abstract

As in many other countries, the field of genetic counseling is in its initial stages of development in India, where there are efforts to streamline the profession and to implement graduate‐level training programs. We implemented an elective course on genetic counseling at the undergraduate level in a private university in India to assess students’ interest, to provide early exposure for students interested in pursuing the career, and to aid recruitment. To assess satisfaction with the course and recruitment outcomes, we sent a course evaluation survey to 332 students and received 134 responses. Familiarity with genetic counseling topics increased significantly after completing the course. Of the 42 respondents who reported they were planning to pursue formal genetic counseling training, 21% (n = 9/42) became interested in the profession as a result of taking this course. Survey respondents who were prospective applicants to genetic counseling training programs referred mostly to the websites of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and the American Board of Genetic Counseling for information on genetic counseling and training. Barriers to entry into the field included lack of shadowing opportunities, inadequate coursework, and limited opportunities to interact with practicing genetic counselors. Respondents stated that additional case studies as well as observation of patient interactions would elucidate the role of a genetic counselor and help define the scope of the practice in India and other countries. Overall, genetic counseling education at the undergraduate level is a scalable way to improve understanding of genetic counseling topics, increase professional interest in the field, and support workforce development.

Exploring racial and ethnic minority individuals’ journey to becoming genetic counselors: Mapping paths to diversifying the genetic counseling profession

“…One recently published study suggested that in-person presentations may generate higher interest in GC among individuals from underrepresented minority groups compared to more passive strategies such as informational brochures (Price et al, 2020). Another recent effort included an elective undergraduate course to aid recruitment in India (Neogi et al, 2020). After taking the undergraduate course, over 75% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed the course increased their interest in the field, suggesting that undergraduate courses may hold promise in attracting diverse candidates.…”

Impact of Nursing Clinical Elective Courses on New Graduate Nurses' Clinical Practice

“…Key search terms included education OR outcomes of education AND clinical elective OR elective course. Of the 30 articles, 11 provided evaluation data on the course itself, including the quality of the course, satisfaction with the course, how well the course met the objectives, and the student's intent in going into the specialty field after graduation 8-18. Another 17 studies evaluated student-related outcomes immediately following the course, such as knowledge, confidence, attitude, and perceptions related to the content 4,5,12,19-32.…”

“…Of the 30 articles, 11 provided evaluation data on the course itself, including the quality of the course, satisfaction with the course, how well the course met the objectives, and the student's intent in going into the specialty field after graduation. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Another 17 studies evaluated student-related outcomes immediately following the course, such as knowledge, confidence, attitude, and perceptions related to the content. 4,5,12,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Two other studies did not evaluate student outcomes.…”

Promoting the integration of genetic counseling education and research across the spectrum of learners at a large academic institution

“…Separately, research opportunities are increasingly sought after by undergraduates prior to entering genetic counseling programs (Gerard et al., 2019; Hyland & Dasgupta, 2019; Neogi et al., 2020). Many benefits exist for participation in undergraduate coursework and research to build expertise and skills to apply for training positions in the genetics services workforce (Russell et al., 2007).…”

“…As each individual aim is bearing fruit, the next challenges are implementing more crossover between people in each aim and distilling the lessons learned to see if this program could be replicated at other sites. Separately, research opportunities are increasingly sought after by undergraduates prior to entering genetic counseling programs (Gerard et al, 2019;Hyland & Dasgupta, 2019;Neogi et al, 2020).…”