Abstract
Mental illness is extremely common and genetic counselors frequently see patients with mental illness. Genetic counselors report discomfort in providing psychiatric genetic counseling (GC), suggesting the need to look critically at training for psychiatric GC. This study aimed to investigate psychiatric GC training and its impact on perceived preparedness to provide psychiatric GC (preparedness). Current students and recent graduates were invited to complete an anonymous survey evaluating psychiatric GC training and outcomes. Bivariate correlations (p<.10) identified variables for inclusion in a logistic regression model to predict preparedness. Data were checked for assumptions underlying logistic regression. The logistic regression model for the 286 respondents [χ2(8)=84.87, p<.001] explained between 37.1% (Cox & Snell R2=.371) and 49.7% (Nagelkerke R2=.497) of the variance in preparedness scores. More frequent psychiatric GC instruction (OR=5.13), more active methods for practicing risk assessment (OR=4.43), and education on providing resources for mental illness (OR=4.99) made uniquely significant contributions to the model (p<.001). Responses to open-ended questions revealed interest in further psychiatric GC training, particularly enabling “hands on” experience. This exploratory study suggests that enriching GC training through more frequent psychiatric GC instruction and more active opportunities to practice psychiatric GC skills will support students in feeling more prepared to provide psychiatric GC after graduation.
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Acknowledgements
We thank all those who participated in this study. This work was conducted by AL to fulfill University of Maryland Master’s in Genetic Counseling degree requirements. We thank Dr. Susan Dahinten for her statistical guidance. CH was supported by the Women’s Health Research Institute.
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Ashley Low, Shannan Dixon, Amanda Higgs, Jessica Joines and Catriona Hippman declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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The Institutional Review Board at the University of Maryland, Baltimore approved the study (Exempt determination obtained August 20, 2014).
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Consent was implied with completion of the anonymous survey (in accordance with IRB approval). All authors consented to the submission of this manuscript. All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Low, A., Dixon, S., Higgs, A. et al. Training to Provide Psychiatric Genetic Counseling: How Does It Impact Recent Graduates’ and Current Students’ Readiness to Provide Genetic Counseling for Individuals with Psychiatric Illness and Attitudes towards this Population?. J Genet Counsel 27, 301–311 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-017-0146-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-017-0146-z