Genetic Counseling in Middle School Science Club: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Compared to demographic data from other healthcare professions, genetic counselors (GCs) are more likely to be Caucasian females. Many current underrepresented in genetic counseling (URGC) professionals in the field found genetic counseling later in their careers due in part to their lack of awareness. A pilot study consisting of equal numbers of male and female sixth grade science club students was conducted to explore the impact that direct teaching might have on students' awareness of and interest in genetic counseling. The analysis used the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank test due to the ordinal, Likert-scale data. Results derived from a pre-and post-survey of lesson participants indicated a statistically significant increase in students' perceptions of having a role model in a science career. Efforts to reach local middle school students to highlight genetic counseling as a potential career choice, especially by role models, may add to the continued work being done to increase the diversity of future genetic counseling applicant pools.

Efforts of diversity and inclusion, cultural competency, and equity in the genetic counseling profession: A snapshot and reflection

“…Another survey respondent discussed their doctoral thesis investigating ‘the training experiences of genetic counseling students who identify as racial or ethnic minorities’. Some manuscripts generated from these thesis projects are in the process of being published or have been published in the Journal of STEM Outreach or the Journal of Genetic Counseling (Hutchinson et al, 2019).…”

“…Unquestionably, these professionals are on the frontline of exposing young minds to available career paths. It is evident that the fields of medicine and nursing are more widely recognized compared with the field of genetic counseling (Hutchinson et al, 2019; Urli, Connors, & Channaoui, 2019). The question of why this trend persists should be explored and addressed by genetic professionals and school faculty alike.…”

“…The question of why this trend persists should be explored and addressed by genetic professionals and school faculty alike. Hutchinson et al (2019) found that even one short introductory session to the profession generated a positive outcome among middle school students regarding their perception of having a role model in a science career. Furthermore, for any of these types of efforts to resonate with the target audience, the outreach activities should be developed and planned with direct involvement from the community of interest followed by evaluation and dissemination of outcomes.…”

“…As demonstrated in Table 1, the genetic counseling profession is less racially and ethnically diverse than other healthcare professions, including physicians, social workers, physician assistants, registered nurses, and occupational therapists (Sarmiento, 2019). Additional data on allied health professions collected by Hutchinson et al (2019) note that among 10 healthcare professions examined, genetic counseling ranked the least diverse with respect to percentage of self‐reporting African American and Latinx/Hispanic individuals.…”

A call for unity in DEIJ efforts using a proposed framework for Education, Recruitment, Retainment, Research, and Active outreach (ERA) for genetic counselors in the United States

“…Focusing on the relationships with high school career counselors in Black and Latinx/Hispanic communities will ensure that students are aware of this field prior to making decisions about college (Hutchinson et al, 2019;Oh & Lewis, 2005) Retainment becomes increasingly important, especially surrounding DEIJ initiatives, with the rapid expansion of the genetic counseling field and the increased demand for genetic services.…”