Abstract
The genetic counselling profession was established in France in 2004. Eight years later, 122 genetic counsellors have graduated from the unique educational French program which awards the Professional Master Degree of Human Pathology, entitled “Master of Genetic Counselling and Predictive Medicine”. As part of a global evaluation of this new profession by health genetic professionals, we undertook a national survey investigating various aspects such as employment, work responsibilities and integration. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the views of genetic professionals on the genetic counsellors’ role. Of 422 French professionals invited to take part in this study, 126 participated. The survey underlines that this profession is significantly recognized by physicians practicing within genetics departments. French genetic counsellors are allowed to manage consultations independently, without the necessary presence of a qualified medical geneticist but under his or her responsibility. Genetic counsellors participate in a wide range of consultations. They provide both information for relevant and for genetic testing and sometimes disclose the genetic test result to patient. Eventually, the role of genetic counsellors appears to be directly dependent from the relationship of trust between the two health professions.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all professionals for their time and precious contribution to this study.
We also are grateful to Pr Heather Skirton and Pr Nicole Philip for useful comments and reading of this manuscript.
Compliance with ethics guidelines
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards.
Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in this study.
Conflict of interest
Christophe Cordier, Nicolas Taris, Ramona Moldovan, Hagay Sobol and Marie-Antoinette Voelckel declare they have no conflicts of interest.
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Cordier, C., Taris, N., Moldovan, R. et al. Genetic professionals’ views on genetic counsellors: a French survey. J Community Genet 7, 51–55 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-015-0250-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-015-0250-4