Abstract
Genetic counselors who receive formal training report increased confidence and competence in their supervisory roles. The effectiveness of specific formal supervision training has not been assessed previously. A day-long GC supervision conference was designed based on published supervision competencies and was attended by 37 genetic counselors. Linear Mixed Model and post-hoc paired t-test was used to compare Psychotherapy Supervisor Development Scale (PSDS) scores among/between individuals pre and post conference. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model and post-hoc McNemar’s test was used to determine if the conference had an effect on GC supervision competencies. PSDS scores were significantly increased 1 week (p < 0.001) and 6 months (p < 0.001) following the conference. For three supervision competencies, attendees were more likely to agree they were able to perform them after the conference than before. These effects remained significant 6 months later. For the three remaining competencies, the majority of supervisors agreed they could perform these before the conference; therefore, no change was found. This exploratory study showed this conference increased the perceived confidence and competence of the supervisors who attended and increased their self-reported ability to perform certain supervision competencies. While still preliminary, this supports the idea that a one day conference on supervision has the potential to impact supervisor development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. (2014). Practice-based competencies for genetic counselors. Available at: http://www.gceducation.org/Documents/ACGC%20Core%20Competencies%20Brochure_14_Web_FINAL.pdf Accessed on May 12, 2015.
Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling. (2013). Standards of accreditation for graduate programs in genetic counseling. Available at: http://www.gceducation.org/Documents/Standards%20Final%20approved%20Feb%202013.pdf Accessed on May 12, 2015.
American Board of Genetic Counseling. (2011). ABGC detailed content outline. Available at: http://www.abgc.net/ABGC/documents/ABGCDCOEffective01-01-2012.pdf Accessed on May 12, 2015.
American Psychological Association (2015). Guidelines for clinical supervision in health service psychology. American Psychologist, 70(1), 33–46.
Atzinger, C. L., Lewis, K., Martin, L. J., Yager, G., Ramstetter, C., & Wusik, K. (2014). The impact of supervision training on genetic counselor supervisory identity development. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 23(6), 1056–1065.
Baker, S. B., Exum, H. A., & Tyler, R. E. (2002). The developmental process of clinical supervisors in training: An investigation of the supervisor complexity model. Counselor Education and Supervision, 42, 15–30.
Barker, K. K., & Hunsley, J. (2014). Reliability and validity of the psychotherapy supervisor development scale: A meta-analytic evaluation. The Clinical Supervisor, 33(2), 123–143.
Eubanks Higgins, S., Veach, P. M., MacFarlane, I. M., Borders, L. D., LeRoy, B., & Callanan, N. (2013). Genetic counseling supervisor competencies: results of a Delphi study. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 22(1), 39–57.
Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2007). Competence in competency-based supervision practice: construct and application. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(3), 232–240.
Getz, H. G. (1999). Assessment of clinical supervisor competencies. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 491–497.
Hendrickson, S. M., McCarthy Veach, P. V., & LeRoy, B. S. (2002). A qualitative investigation of student and supervisor perceptions of live supervision in genetic counseling. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 11(1), 25–49.
Lee, H. K., McCarthy Veach, P., & LeRoy, B. S. (2009). An investigation of relationships among genetic counselors’ supervision skills and multicultural counseling competence. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 18, 287–299.
Lindh, H. L., McCarthy Veach, P. M., Cikanek, K., & LeRoy, B. S. (2003). A survey of clinical supervision in genetic counseling. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 12(1), 23–41.
McIntosh, N., Dircks, A., Fitzpatrick, J., & Shuman, C. (2006). Games in clinical genetic counseling supervision. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 15(4), 225–243.
National Society of Genetic Counselors. (2014). Professional status survey. Available at: http://nsgc.org/p/do/sd/sid=2499&type=0 Accessed on May 12, 2015.
Watkins, C. E., Schneider, L. J., Haynes, J., & Nieberding, R. (1995). Measuring psychotherapy supervisor development. The Clinical Supervisor, 13(1), 77–90.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to the University of Cincinnati/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Genetic Counseling Program for supporting the conference assessed in this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Carrie Atzinger, Hua He, and Katie Wusik declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Human Studies and Informed Consent
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Documentation of informed consent was waived for this study by the Institutional Review Board due to the minimal risk associated with this study.
Animal Studies
No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Atzinger, C.L., He, H. & Wusik, K. Measuring the Effectiveness of a Genetic Counseling Supervision Training Conference. J Genet Counsel 25, 698–707 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-015-9917-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-015-9917-6