Kim Guthrie
Capstone Project Committee: L. DiAnne Borders, PhD, Nancy Callanan, MS, CGC, Sonja Eubanks, MS, CGC
According to the National Society of Genetic Counselors 2006 Professional Status Survey, 55% of genetic counselors report that one of their primary roles was teaching, educating and supervising students. Although a majority of genetic counselors are involved in the supervision of students, core competencies for clinical supervisors have not been developed in the field of genetic counseling The goal of this project was to develop an appropriate strategy for the creation of core competencies for genetic counseling student supervisors and to create a Jane Engelberg Memorial Fellowship (JEMF) proposal to provide funding for the project. In order to develop the JEMF proposal, various consensus methods and information about supervision training and competencies in other allied health professions were investigated. A two-day consensus conference to include genetic counseling training program directors, associate directors, clinical supervisors, and recent graduates was chosen as the method to generate competencies for clinical supervisors. A modified nominal group technique, in which a meeting facilitator presents topics for discussion and moderates structured group discussion, was chosen as the format for the conference. Competencies generated at the meeting will be reviewed and refined by an advisory committee. The competencies and a process paper will be submitted for publication in the Journal of Genetic Counseling. If funded, this project has the potential to provide a foundation for the creation of training curriculum for genetic counseling student supervisors. Additionally, competencies for supervisors may promote research on supervision in the field and lead to improvements in the process of supervision.