Other Options
The Genetic Counseling Program faculty
strive to meet the needs and goals of each and every one of
our students. There are many examples of how basic
components of the Program design were enhanced and
individualized for students.
Testimonials follow that further describe enhanced training
experiences of several past students.
The
Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program is designed to
provide teaching experience to graduate students and prepare
them for careers in academia. Many
students spend a majority of their time in graduate school
in a lab and get little to no teaching experience.
Most of these students pursue careers at academic
institutions where teaching is a high priority and without
any teaching experience or knowledge, this can be an
overwhelming experience. The PFF program
helps to bridge the gap between graduate school and academic
positions.
The PFF program is a certificate
program at the
The first PFF colloquium is the
Effective Teaching colloquium which is held fall quarter of
each academic year. In this colloquium
students learn about different teaching methods and
strategies. Many talented faculty members
from UC and neighboring institutions share their experiences
and knowledge of teaching. Students are
taught about syllabus design and are expected to write and
present a syllabus for a class they may teach in the future.
The second colloquium, Job Search, is offered each
winter quarter. In this colloquium,
students learn about expectations at different types of
institutions. They are able to visit
institutions of different sizes and missions.
They learn the differences between institutions that
are more research based and those that are more teaching
based, as well as those in between.
Students are also introduced to effective ways to write a
cover letter, CV, and teaching philosophy.
Reading
Finally, the 40-hour mentorship rounds
out the certificate requirements. For
this experience, students are matched with faculty members
at UC or neighboring institutions.
Students can choose the location and subject material for
their mentoring. During the mentoring
students may help design a course or project, write exam
questions, attend faculty meetings, or assist in advising
students. The students work with their
mentors to ensure they meet their personal goals for the
mentorship. Students are expected to
teach at least one class while being critiqued by their
mentor. The mentoring experience really
allows students to get a sense of what life is like for a
faculty member. It also encourages
students to use the tools and resources they have been
learning about and discussing in the colloquia, workshops,
and reading groups.
As a genetic counseling student, I found the PFF
experience to be very valuable. As counselors, one of our
most important roles is educating our patients, colleagues,
and students. After participating in the PFF program, I
feel confident in my teaching abilities and welcome
educational experiences. I realize as a genetic counselor I
have valuable information to provide, and I am certain that
I can relay that information in an effective way. My PFF
experiences have even helped me in clinic. I now have a
better understanding of the different ways people learn and
understand things, which helps me provide information in the
best way to my patients. Although my position is much
different than other PFF students that go on to academic
careers, I think the PFF program will prove to be very
beneficial in my career as well.
Erin Acra, MS, Genetic Counselor
Division of Human Genetics, Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital Medical Center
UC/CCHMC Genetic Counseling Program
graduate, Class of 2008
Bioethics Clinical Elective Rotation
Both the University of Cincinnati and
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (CCHMC) offer many
opportunities to enrich one’s academic, professional, and
personal experience. These opportunities span a wide variety
of topics, including one of my interests—bioethics. Because
I had some previous graduate training in this field, I was
seeking a way to continue to expand my knowledge in the
context of the genetic counseling program. With the help of
my advisors in the genetic counseling program, I was able to
create an elective clinic rotation that allowed me to do
just that.
For this rotation, I attended the CCHMC
Bioethics Committee meeting and got a sense of how and why
clinical ethics consultations are conducted. In addition to
clinical ethics consultations, the committee was involved
with professional and policy issues, and observing these
discussions was quite new to me. I also attended several
conferences and lectures, which focused on topics such as
wrongful birth and wrongful life, research involving
children, and clinical and translational ethics. Toward the
end, I was the one giving presentations to the ethics
committee and several student groups! After each of these
experiences, I noted how each might apply to me as a genetic
counselor.
This experience was very encouraging,
particularly during my attendance of special programs (the
translational ethics conference, grand rounds, etc.), and
when I was given the opportunity to present to the CCHMC
Bioethics Committee and the AGC class. These programs
demonstrated that there is much interest in medical ethics
topics and that there will likely be many opportunities for
me to share the knowledge I’ve obtained from my training in
both ethics and genetic counseling, as well as further my
professional development.
In the more general field of clinical
ethics, I feel that a genetic counselor has a great deal to
contribute. Particularly in clinical consultations, skills
such as contracting, obtaining a history, determining a
patient’s understanding of a situation, providing
anticipatory guidance, and the nondirective facilitation of
decision-making can be extremely valuable. In this sense, I
envision the role of the clinical ethics consultant to be
much like a genetic counselor. Genetic counselors also have
experience working through issues related to decision-making
capacity, especially in the context of patients with
intellectual disabilities.
I am glad to have had the opportunity
to create and carry out these elective rotation activities.
I am looking forward to similar experiences that combine my
training in genetic counseling and medical ethics in my
professional career.
Margaret Au, MS, Genetic Counselor
Massachusetts General Hospital
UC/CCHMC Genetic Counseling Program
graduate, Class of 2008
StarShine Elective Rotation
As a UC genetic counseling student, I had the unique opportunity to enhance my genetic counseling training and practice through a self-designed elective rotation working with StarShine, the hospice program of Cincinnati Childr en’s Hospital Medical Center. This experienced allowed me to focus on psychosocial elements families face when coping with a terminal illness diagnosed in a child or pregnancy.
During this rotation, I truly became a member of the StarShine team, participating in bereavement and psychosocial team meetings, patient home visits, and attending patient memorials/funeral services. Over the course of this six week rotation, I watched my psychosocial counseling skills flourish through intimate encounters with grieving families.
StarShine encompasses a number of disciplines to ensure patients are surrounded with a comprehensive support network. I was able to work closely with many staff members (nurses, social workers, bereavement counselors, child-life specialists, and chaplains) providing many services to families ranging from psychosocial support to those who have already lost a loved one to developing birthing plans for an expected baby with a terminal diagnosis. As a genetic counselor, this experience allowed me to gain knowledge of resources in the community, understand the overwhelming amount of information families are confronted with during times of crisis, identify my own limitations as a genetic counselor, prepare for and practice discussing sensitive issues with families, and observe vast family dynamics and the role they play in shaping the healing process for individual family members (too name a few).
As a recent graduate and practicing genetic counselor, I can say this experience truly enriched my counseling training. My comfort level in meeting with families facing crisis in the beginning of my career far exceeded my expectations as I felt not only did I have the "tools" to work with these families acquired through my training, but I also had confidence in my capabilities as a result of my past experiences working with such families prior to graduation.
Thanks to the supportive staff of the UC Genetic Counseling Program, I was able to hone my counseling skills through a unique opportunity that none of my other classmates experienced!
Jody Wallace, MS, Genetic Counselor
St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Edgewood,
KY
UC/CCHMC Genetic Counseling Program
graduate, Class of 2007