Abstract
Many genetic counselors are leaving or considering leaving their clinical positions for non-clinical positions. This comes at a time when there is an increasing need for clinical genetic counselors. A serious concern facing the genetic counseling profession is ensuring that there will be an adequate workforce both in supply and skills needed for existing and emerging roles. The purpose of this study was to determine what types of positions genetic counselors plan to take and what impacts their decisions. Two-hundred seventy-seven current genetic counseling students and 440 individuals who recently graduated from an accredited US or Canadian genetic counseling master’s degree program between 2010 and 2015 completed our anonymous online survey. Overall, both groups consider working in clinical and non-clinical roles. Specifically, 72.6% of graduates (N=408) currently hold or previously held a clinical position, and 95.4% of students (N=263) indicated they will likely pursue a clinical position during their career. Reasons cited for considering or pursuing clinical positions included wanting to provide direct patient care, desiring the job responsibilities and characteristics and seeing a clinical position as a necessary first step to gain experience before moving to a non-clinical position. About 31% of graduates (N=411) reported that they currently work or previously worked in a non-clinical setting. In addition, 52.4% of graduates who have not yet held a non-clinical position (N=227) and 66% of students (N=265) believe they will likely work in a non-clinical setting during their career. The higher salary, flexibility, opportunities for new challenges, professional growth and respect associated with non-clinical positions were the primary reasons for considering or pursuing these roles. It is important for the genetic counseling profession to develop strategic plans to lessen the number of genetic counselors vacating clinical positions and to increase the supply of genetic counselors to meet the increasing demand for both clinical and non-clinical counselors.