Genetic Counselor

Remote

💊 Health

A genetic counselor is a specialist who provides families with information about the genetic conditions that affect them. They work across several specialties. Healthcare professionals refer patients to these scientists during certain milestones in their medical journey. Individuals planning for pregnancy will have tests to determine which conditions run in the family that may affect the fetus. If no tests were completed before conception, one is done during the pregnancy to check for any abnormalities or other detected problems. If those tests are normal but the child shows signs of a disorder, doctors will refer the parents to a genetic counselor for screening, and if an individual has symptoms of a hereditary condition, the counselor can run a test to check for certain markers.

What does a Genetic Counselor do?

A genetic counselor, or genetic nurse, uses data and analysis to investigate patient DNA and assess the risk of genetically inherited conditions. Their duties include providing genetic testing, determining hereditary disease risk factors and educating and counseling patients and families.

Responsibilities

A Genetic Counselor should be able to fulfill various duties and responsibilities. The following are some duties and responsibilities a Genetic Counselor should be able to execute:

Get informed consent from patients and discuss their options
Assess histories and counsel patients on hereditary information discovered
Help families understand their family medical history, discuss risks and make recommendations
Document case details in patient files and ensure confidentiality
Provide educational material and recommendations to patients
Oversee execution of necessary research protocols and record maintenance

Required Skills

A competitive Genetic Counselor will have certain skills and qualifications, including:

Comprehensive knowledge of human genetic disorders and defects
Excellent communication skills to distill complex information, results and diagnoses to patients in terms they can digest
Ability to use independent and impartial judgment when managing patient data and privacy
Ability to apply counseling methods and techniques to help families to cope and manage potential outcomes
Professionalism and emotional stability to handle difficult cases while providing families with proper care instructions and support recommendations
Excellent, detailed writing skills to provide detailed information to the referring physician

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