Abstract
Genetic counsellors face tensions between past and future identities: between established values and goals, and a broadening scope of settings and activities. This study examines the advent of genetic counsellors in private practice in Australia and New Zealand from the perspectives of the small numbers working in this sector and those who have only worked in public practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 genetic counsellors who had experience in private practice, and 14 genetic counsellors without private sector experience. Results demonstrated that circumstantial and personal factors can mitigate the challenges experienced and the amount of support desired by those who had established a private practice, and those who were employed by private companies. Notably, most participants with private sector experience perceived themselves to be viewed negatively by other genetic counsellors. Most participants without private sector experience expressed concern that the challenges they believed genetic counsellors face in private practice may impact service quality, but wished to address such concerns by providing appropriate support. Together, our results reinforce that participants in private and public sectors are strong advocates for peer support, multidisciplinary team work, and professional development. These core values, and seeking understanding of different circumstances and support needs, will enable genetic counsellors in different sectors to move forward together. Our results suggest supports that may be acted upon by members of the profession, professional groups, and training programs, in Australia, New Zealand, and overseas.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge the genetic counsellors who participated in this research; thank you for generously sharing your experiences. This study was completed in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the first author’s Master of Genetic Counselling at The University of Melbourne, financially assisted by a Graduate Access Melbourne Bursary (2015), and The Samantha Wake Travel Grant (2016).
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Author SC, Author CG, Author SW, and Author AM declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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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). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
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No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.
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Collis, S., Gaff, C., Wake, S. et al. Genetic Counsellors and Private Practice: Professional Turbulence and Common Values. J Genet Counsel 27, 782–791 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-017-0201-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-017-0201-9