To celebrate the first Genetic Counselor Awareness Day on November 9th, the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) hosted a tweetchat, #IAmAGenticCounselor. Genetic counselors shared their inspiration to join the field, their respective roles and advice to prospective students. Check out some highlights below!
We also recapped NSGC’s awareness day webinar presented by our CEO/President, Ellen Matloff.
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Q1: What are you doing to celebrate Genetic Counselor Awareness Day? #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Genetic Counselors (@GeneticCouns) November 10, 2017
A1: I'm about to head to a tumor board at a local oncology clinic and I will be talking about genetic counseling as a cornerstone to all oncology practices. I will also be handing out the colorful brochures from the NSGC website.
— Aisha Furqan (@furqanaisha) November 10, 2017
A1: So much celebrating! Tweeting up a storm throughout the week & day, sharing profiles of each of our cardio GCs on our broader team slack so others know what we do. #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/VPfo0BUrnH
— Colleen Caleshu (@colleencaleshu) November 10, 2017
#iamageneticcounselor training nextgen GCs to be astute communicators, scholarly professionals, & engaged members of communities @ASGCGP
— Quinn Stein (@SteinQuinn) November 10, 2017
A1: Rocked my GC shirt courtesy of @DenaTalksDNA & shared what it meant to be a GC w/ an MFM office & staff today along with a ton of tweets 🙂 #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/3LoedN1R6i
— Aishwarya Arjunan, MS, MPH, CGC,CPH (she/her/hers) (@aishuarjun) November 10, 2017
A1: I am flooding my social media accounts today with links to the https://t.co/qTqlKC3Gv2 website. There are so many different things GCs do, and NSGC @GeneticCouns supports and promotes them all. #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Brianne Kirkpatrick (@GCBrianne) November 10, 2017
Q2: What drew you to becoming a genetic counselor? #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Genetic Counselors (@GeneticCouns) November 10, 2017
A2: When I was considering PhD programs during my senior year, I learned about genetic counseling (a little). The combination of science, medicine & patient care really resonated with me. I leapt in & haven’t looked back since! #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Erica Ruth Ramos (@ERamosSD) November 10, 2017
A2: noticing an urgent need for what genetic counselors have to offer among people with lived experience of mental illness and their families #IamAGeneticCounselor
— Dr. Jehannine Austin (@J9_Austin) November 10, 2017
A2: I am living proof aptitude tests work, that's how I found out about GC'ing in high school! It was my #2 results & I fell in love when I made it into a clinic. #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Amber Gamma (@ambergamma) November 10, 2017
A2: Learned about GC profession reading the last sentence of a genetics chapter just before summer break. Lucky I actually read it or i would've missed the best career! #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Joy Larsen Haidle (@JoyLarsenHaidle) November 10, 2017
My amazing little sister Ellie was diagnosed with Ring 18 as a newborn. The founder of @Chromosome18Reg convinced me to become a Genetic Counselor. I️ credit my career to my sister and her circular chromosome! pic.twitter.com/E6pg5xxJ0a
— Dena DNA (@DenaTalksDNA) November 10, 2017
Q5: Why are genetic counselors an important member of a patient’s healthcare team? #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Genetic Counselors (@GeneticCouns) November 10, 2017
A5: Genetic providers tend to be the ones to help put all the pieces of a puzzle together for a patient or family & help drive the multidisciplinary approach to healthcare. #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/GzM8ZXhjpA
— Aishwarya Arjunan, MS, MPH, CGC,CPH (she/her/hers) (@aishuarjun) November 10, 2017
A5: GCs are key parts of the healthcare team in cardiology because GCs have the unique combination of genetics expertise, communication skills, and psychological counseling skills. We augment the care provided by cardiologists & nurses. #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/tH2dofCDQQ
— Colleen Caleshu (@colleencaleshu) November 10, 2017
A5: genetics simultaneously is becoming more complex & more common in health care. We want to help physicians and patients make sense of all that, navigate the intricacies of testing and make decisions that will ultimately benefit the patient #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Amber Gamma (@ambergamma) November 10, 2017
A5: I know their cardiovascular history, I critically interpret and make recommendations based on their genetic testing results, and I help promote compliance by #relationshipbuilding #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Ana Morales, MS, CGC (she/hers/ella) (@AnaMoralesCGC) November 10, 2017
A5: #geneticcounselors are specially trained to interpret family history and genetic test results. Other healthcare providers often don't have the time or training patients need. And other providers need their lab GCs to help them understand their results. #IamAGeneticCounselor
— Carin E (@CarinEcgc) November 10, 2017
Q6: What advice do you have for those looking to join the profession? #IAmAGeneticCounselor
— Genetic Counselors (@GeneticCouns) November 10, 2017
A6: Reach out to the genetic counselors on Twitter! Follow my #IAmAGeneticCounselor list or @MyGeneCounsel’s more extensive one to learn and connect with us. #GCchat is great too. https://t.co/PWTgJwkJux https://t.co/2k8Exs2wcU
— Erica Ruth Ramos (@ERamosSD) November 10, 2017
A6: Yes! This all the way. Hard time getting into school? Know that more training programs & slots are coming. If you are a good candidate & this feels like the right career path, stick with it, you'll get there. #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/mani8a5hXX
— Colleen Caleshu (@colleencaleshu) November 10, 2017
A6: Follow @GeneticCouns, @GenomeMag and @GenomeWeb, follow #geneticcounselors on Facebook and Twitter, and definitely make contact with #GeneticCounselors in your area to learn more. #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/LtciQrJkKz
— My Gene Counsel (@MyGeneCounsel) November 10, 2017
A6: Ask us about our specialty & why we love what we do! Shadow or itnern with us! Check out https://t.co/0cwf67Xh8s & https://t.co/pk0TVNYYml Lots of options to make sure this is what you want to pursue before applying to grad school! #IAmAGeneticCounselor #GCchat #NSGCGenePool https://t.co/nWAepeeKBk
— Rebekah Moore, MS, CGC (she/her) (@GeneticsRebekah) November 10, 2017
YES! Don’t want to hear, “You’re the first genetic counselor of color that I’ve met” or “I️ didn’t think that I’d fit in.” from interviewees anymore! We welcome all! #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/Jnbs7h2O1Y
— Aishwarya Arjunan, MS, MPH, CGC,CPH (she/her/hers) (@aishuarjun) November 10, 2017
Persevere! I️ can’t wait to work with more people dedicated to their goal of combining hard sciences and counseling skills to help others. It can be difficult, but the hard work is worth it. We need your unique contribution! #IamAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/4BoWfPfRF7
— Rachel Bluebond (@racheldeyarmond) November 10, 2017
Thank you for an amazing inaugural Genetic Counselor Awareness Day! We had a blast interacting with everyone on Twitter today and loved seeing how you spread awareness within your communities. Until next year! #IAmAGeneticCounselor https://t.co/kwu8nBXb5A
— Genetic Counselors (@GeneticCouns) November 10, 2017
