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Effects of Anxiety on Novice Genetic Counseling Students’ Experience of Supervised Clinical Rotations

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Journal of Genetic Counseling

Abstract

Supervised clinical experiences with patients comprise a critical component of genetic counseling student education. Previous research has found genetic counseling students tend to be more anxiety prone than the general population, and anxiety related to supervision has been found in genetic counseling and related fields. The present study investigated how anxiety affects the experience of supervision for genetic counseling students. Second year genetic counseling students were invited to participate through email invitations distributed via training directors of the 33 programs accredited at the time of the study by the American Board of Genetic Counseling. An initial online survey contained the trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to estimate anxiety proneness in this population and an invitation to participate in a 45-minute semi-structured phone interview focusing on students’ experiences of supervision during their clinical rotations. High and low trait anxiety groups were created using STAI scores, and the groups’ interview responses were compared using consensual qualitative research methodology (CQR; Hill 2012). The high anxiety group was more likely to describe problematic supervisory relationships, appreciate the supervisor’s ability to help them when they get stuck in sessions, and feel their anxiety had a negative effect on their performance in general and in supervision. Common themes included supervisors’ balancing support and guidance, the importance of feedback, ego-centric responses, and supervisors as focal points. The results of the present study are largely consistent with current literature. Further research findings and research, practice, and training recommendations are provided.

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Acknowledgments

This study was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the first author’s Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Minnesota. We would like to thank Salina Renninger for her assistance developing the interview protocol and Cami Takkunen for transcribing the interviews. We thank the participants who shared their insights, successes, and failures to contribute to our understanding of supervision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Austin College, 900 N Grand Ave, Suite 61557, Sherman, TX, 75092, USA

    Ian M. MacFarlane

  2. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Pat McCarthy Veach

  3. International School Manila, Manila, Philippines

    Janelle E. Grier

  4. Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District, Ketchikan, AK, USA

    Derek J. Meister

  5. Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Bonnie S. LeRoy

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  1. Ian M. MacFarlane
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  2. Pat McCarthy Veach
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  3. Janelle E. Grier
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  4. Derek J. Meister
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  5. Bonnie S. LeRoy
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Correspondence to Ian M. MacFarlane.

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Conflict of Interest

Ian M. MacFarlane, Patricia McCarthy Veach, Janelle E. Meier, Derek J. Meister, and Bonnie LeRoy declare they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Treatment of Subjects

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. This study was approved by the University of Minnesota IRB. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Appendix

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(Table 6).

Table 6 Illustrative interviewee quotations for general, typical, and variant domains and categories
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MacFarlane, I.M., McCarthy Veach, P., Grier, J.E. et al. Effects of Anxiety on Novice Genetic Counseling Students’ Experience of Supervised Clinical Rotations. J Genet Counsel 25, 742–766 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-016-9953-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-016-9953-x

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