CAREER GUIDE FOR GENETIC COUNSELORSOC Code: 21-1019 Pay Band(s): 3, 4 and 5 (Salary Structure) Standard Occupational Description: There is no standard occupational description for the occupation of Genetic Counselor as used by the Commonwealth. This occupation would be included in the Counselors, All Others. This group is comprised of many different types of counseling occupations with a wide range of characteristics. Commonwealth of Virginia Description: Counsel and provide information and support to families who have members with birth defects or genetic disorders and to families who may be at risk for a variety of inherited conditions. Genetic counselors are health professionals with specialized graduate degrees and experience in the areas of medical genetics and counseling. Genetic counselors usually work as members of a health care team providing information and support to individuals and/or families with genetic conditions. Genetic Counselor positions in the Commonwealth are assigned to the following Roles in the Counseling Services Career Group: While Genetic Counselor within the Commonwealth are all located within the Counseling Services Career Group, individuals may want to pursue other opportunities within the Commonwealth depending upon individual training, education, knowledge, skills, abilities, and interests. Other Career Group(s) that may be of interest are: Nursing/Physician Assistance Services SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND TASKS(Technical and Functional Expertise) The American Board of Genetic Counseling defines four domains of genetic counseling practice-based competencies required in an entry-level genetic counselor. These domains include communication skills; critical thinking skills; interpersonal, counseling and psychosocial assessment; and professional ethics and values. Skills Note: The technical and functional skills listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Genetic Counselors commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the skills listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile.
Knowledge Note: The technical and functional knowledge statements listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Genetic Counselors commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the knowledge listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile. The Knowledge of:
Abilities Note: The technical and functional abilities listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Genetic Counselors commonly recognized by most employers. Typically, you will not be required to have all of the abilities listed to be a successful performer. Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile. The Ability to:
Tasks-The National Society of Genetic Counselors lists these tasks. Note: The following is a list of sample tasks typically performed by Genetic Counselors. Employees in this occupation will not necessarily perform all of the tasks listed. Tasks
INTERESTED?Like people, occupations have traits or characteristics. These characteristics give important clues about the nature of the work and work environment, and give you an opportunity to match your own personal interests to a specific occupation. When you choose a job in an occupation that matches your own interests you have taken an important step in planning a successful and rewarding career. Genetic Counselor occupation has Social, Investigative and Artistic characteristics as described below: Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules. LICENSURE, REGISTRATION, OR CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTSGenerally licensure is not required for Genetic Counselor positions in state government. However certification may be required and can enhance professional growth and career progression. Certification in genetic counseling is available by the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC). Requirements include documentation of the following: a graduate degree in genetic counseling from an ABGC accredited training program; clinical experience in an ABGC-approved training site or sites; a log book of 50 supervised cases; and successful completion of both the general and specialty certification examination. EDUCATIONAL, TRAINING, AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIESThe National Society of Genetic Counselors http://www.nsgc.org/resourcelink.asp provide the following: Genetic counselors are health professionals with specialized graduate degrees and experience in the areas of medical genetics and counseling. Most enter the field from a variety of disciplines, including biology, genetics, nursing, psychology, public health and social work. Genetic counseling is typically a post-baccalaureate program that takes two years to complete and for which a Master of Science degree is awarded. Applicants to genetic counseling programs should have completed a baccalaureate degree in fields such as biology or biosciences, psychology, nursing, or genetics. Most programs require at least one undergraduate course in genetics. The curriculum in genetic counseling programs includes principles and practices of clinical medical genetics; methods of genetic testing theory and application of interviewing and counseling; social, ethical, and legal issues that pertain to the delivery of genetic services; health care delivery systems; principles of public health; teaching skills; and research methods. COMMONWEALTH COMPETENCIESCompetencies are a set of identified behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities that directly and positively impact the success of employees and the organization. Competencies can be observed and measured. When consistently demonstrated, competencies make employees particularly effective in their work. Competencies help lay out a road map to career success. You can use the Commonwealth Competencies to help improve your individual performance by adopting behaviors that make high performing employees successful in their jobs. In this way, you can use the Commonwealth Competencies for your further professional development. The Commonwealth Competencies are:
The above competencies may be applied to employees throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. They can be rank-ordered by agencies and hiring managers to represent the needs of a specific job. The rank ordering will change depending upon the occupation, an organization's priorities, the actual job requirements, and the supervisor's preferences. Career success is both about what you do (applying your technical knowledge, skills, and ability) and how you do it (the consistent behaviors you demonstrate and choose to use) while interacting and communicating with others. Hopefully, by studying the Commonwealth competencies, identifying your developmental opportunities, and working to refine your own competence, you can take charge of your career! For additional information about the Commonwealth Competencies go to: http://jobs.state.va.us/cc_planningctr.htm. For the competencies, we first list the competencies and then define each. Finally, we list competency indicators; to describe what successful performance looks like. COMMONWEALTH CAREER PATHCareer opportunities in the Commonwealth are not limited to moving “up” to the next highest role and pay band, changing positions, or to becoming a supervisor. That's because most roles describe a broad group of occupationally related positions that perform a range of work that requires increased knowledge and skills. For that reason, Commonwealth roles describe the career paths within the same or higher-level role for the same or different Career Group. The broad salary range and the Commonwealth's pay practices provide flexibility in recognizing career development and advancement. (Salary Structure) For example: Genetic Counselor
Sample Career Path Counselor I The Counselor I role provides career tracks for entry level genetic counselors that have not achieved or had the opportunity to achieve ABGC board certification. This role may include provision of service delivery to clients, coordination of research protocols, and/or teaching responsibilities. Counselor II The Counselor II role provides career tracks for genetic counselors who provide the full range of counseling and case management activities. Genetic counselors provide health and genetic counseling and education to clients. This role is for employees who provide direct services to clients and for employees who provide direct services to clients as well as function as lead workers or working supervisors. Counselor Manager The Counselor Manager role provides career tracks for managers who direct programmatic and administrative functions related to the provision of counseling services as well as monitoring the delivery of services, coordinating budget development, and developing, interpreting, and implementing policies. ADDITIONAL OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:O*NET (Occupational Information Network) http://online.onetcenter.org/gen_search_page Virginia Employment Commission http://www.alex.vec.state.va.us/ Career One Stop Virginia Career Resource Network The National Society of Genetic Counselors http://www.nsgc.org/resourcelink.asp American College of Medical Genetics
|