#7 Simulation and Leadership Development in Clinical Training for Genetic Counselors

DNA Dialogues: Conversations in Genetic Counseling Research

Guests include Megan Cho to discuss her paper, “Beyond multiple choice: Clinical simulation as a rigorous and inclusive method for assessing genetic counseling competencies” as well as Amanda Polanski and Ashley Kuhl to discuss their paper, “Leadership development in genetic counseling graduate programs.”

In this episode we discuss clinical training by exploring papers that discuss clinical simulation and leadership development. You can find the Journal of Genetic Counseling webpage via onlinelibrary.wiley.com or via the National Society of Genetic Counselors website.

Segment 1 “Beyond multiple choice: Clinical simulation as a rigorous and inclusive method for assessing genetic counseling competencies”

Megan is the Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins/NIH genetic counseling training program. Prior to that, as the Research Program Manager at GeneDx, she created and led a team working to discover and describe rare genetic disorders. Megan has practiced clinically at Columbia/New York Presbyterian Hospital and was also adjunct teaching faculty at the Sarah Lawrence College genetic counseling program. She serves as the Co-Chair of the GCEA Education Committee, past Chair of the NSGC Outcomes Committee, past Chair of the NSGC Research Special Interest Group, and has been a member of various task forces including the NSGC Research Task Force and the ACGC Practice Based Competencies task force.

In this segment we discuss:

• Challenges posed by standardized tests in ensuring equity.
• Alternative methods proposed in the article for assessing competence in new genetic counseling graduates and trainees.
• Contrasts between formative and summative assessments in simulation-based education.
• Differences in assessment difficulty and methodology between genetics knowledge and counseling competence.
• Barriers and challenges in implementing simulation in large-scale certification exams in other fields.

Segment 2 “Leadership development in genetic counseling graduate programs”

Amanda Polanski is a certified genetic counselor at Minnesota Perinatal Physicians. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Master of Genetic Counselor Studies program in 2023, and her research focused on characterizing the role of leadership development in genetic counseling graduate programs. Previously, she has done research on identification and diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia through the University of Minnesota. She currently enjoys providing compassionate and inclusive care to prenatal patients alongside other dedicated providers.

Ashley Kuhl, MS, CGC, is the Assistant Program Director at the Master of Genetic Counselor Studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an assistant professor (CHS) in the Department of Pediatrics. She enjoys working with genetic counseling and other health professions learners in various capacities and with patients and families in the UW Biochemical and Medical Genetics clinics at the Waisman Center. She began her clinic work in 2013 after completing her master’s degree in Medical Genetics from the UW-Madison Genetic Counseling Training Program.

In This Segment We Discuss:

• Enhancement of genetic counselors' impact through leadership skills.
• Importance of intentional leadership development in advocating for patients and the profession, and the role of genetic counseling in broader healthcare advocacy efforts.
• The variation in the definition and understanding of leadership among program leaders, and its impact on leadership development within genetic counseling (GC) programs.
• Role of faculty in driving leadership development and effective strategies employed to instill leadership skills in GC students.
• Identification of current leadership development as a top area for improvement and actionable steps for programs to address this gap.

[Plug guest website and SM]

Would you like to nominate a JoGC article to be featured in the show? If so, please fill out this nomination submission form here. Multiple entries are encouraged including articles where you, your colleagues, or your friends are authors.

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For more information about this episode visit dnadialogues.podbean.com, where you can also stream all episodes of the show. Check out the Journal of Genetic Counseling here for articles featured in this episode and others.

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