Genetic Counseling Training and Certification in Australasia

Abstract

The development of standards for training and certification is essential to the credibility and integrity of a developing profession. Training and certification of genetic counselors in Australasia has undergone a detailed review during the past few years, resulting in changes to the way certification is obtained. This paper presents an overview of the process of developing a robust training and certification program which reflects the social and cultural environment of genetic counselors working in Australasia. A brief history of the development of the profession in Australasia is provided, followed by a detailed discussion of the recent development of Masters programs and a portfolio of work required for certification. The importance of consultation within the profession and with our colleagues in the field of human genetics is considered, and we provide a discussion of defining moments that occurred during the review. This paper is intended to provide a detailed description of genetic counselor training and certification in Australasia. We anticipate that our insights into the process of redevelopment of training and certification guidelines may be helpful for genetic counselors working in countries where certification requirements are being developed.

A systematic review of factors that act as barriers to patient referral to genetic services

“…20 In recent years, publications from different countries such as Brazil and Philippines reporting on the need, establishment, practice and cultural characteristics of genetic services have appeared [21][22][23][24] but do not address access to services.…”

Components of genetic counsellor education: A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature

“…Depending on the background of students, duration and the level of education, content of the education programme varied in a wide range of topics. Generally, programmes encompassed both clinical and theoretical teaching; however, authors of only two papers were mentioned, including counselling practice (Sahhar et al 2013;McEwen et al 2013).…”

“…Currently, there are more than 30 training programmes accredited by the American Board of Genetic Counselling . In the late 1980s, educators in South Africa established an MSc level training programme for genetic counsellors (Kromberg and Krause 2013), and in Australia, a diploma level programme was developed: this was later converted to a 2 year Master programme in 2008 (McEwen et al 2013). In Europe, Master degree programmes for genetic counsellors started in the UK, in 1992 at the University of Manchester and in 2000 at Cardiff University (Skirton et al 2013b).…”

A Report on Ten Asia Pacific Countries on Current Status and Future Directions of the Genetic Counseling Profession: The Establishment of the Professional Society of Genetic Counselors in Asia

“…In the mid-1990s, a 1-year graduate diploma in genetic counseling was offered in Australia. However, this program was transitioned to become a 2-year master's level degree because of the recognition of the need to follow international standards in educating genetic counselors hence increasing the chances of Australian-trained genetic counselors for employment abroad (McEwen et al 2013;Sahhar et al 2013). Currently, there are two Master of Genetic Counseling Programs offered as two-year postgraduate degrees: 1) University of Melbourne, established in 2008; and 2) University of Sydney, established in 2010 (Sahhar et al 2013 To support the professional development of genetic counselors in Australia, the Australasian Society of Genetic Counsellors (ASGC) was established in 1991(ASGC 2017b).…”