Personal Genomics is Booming, But There's a Nationwide Shortage of Genetic Counselors Who Can Make Sense of that DNA Data (wired.com)

An anonymous reader shares a Wired report: When Dan Riconda graduated with a master's degree in genetic counseling from Sarah Lawrence College in 1988, the Human Genome Project was in its very first year, DNA evidence was just beginning to enter the courts, and genetic health tests weren't yet on the market. He found one of the few jobs doing fetal diagnostics for rare diseases, which often meant helping young families through the worst time in their lives.

What a difference 30 years makes. Today, with precision medicine going mainstream and an explosion of apps piping genetic insights to your phone from just a few teaspoons of spit, millions of Americans are having their DNA decoded every year. That deluge of data means that genetic counselors -- the specialized medical professionals trained to help patients interpret genetic test results -- are in higher demand than ever. With two to three job openings for every new genetic counseling graduate, the profession is facing a national workforce shortage.

[...] Pharmaceutical and lab testing firms are routinely hiring genetic counselors to make sure new screening technologies for these targeted drugs are developed in an ethical way. According to a 2018 survey conducted by the National Society for Genetic Counselors, a quarter of the workforce now works in one of these non-patient-facing jobs. A smaller study, published in August, found that one-third of genetic counselors had changed jobs in the past two years, nearly all of them from a hospital setting to a laboratory one.

Comments

I don't think I want this

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I need to keep all my relatives on a short leash just because I value my privacy.

Re:Counselors?

[Gilgaron]

I think the idea is that an analyst usually presents technical data to experts of a different domain, whereas a counselor could present technical data to the laity. Probably also rooted in the early days of the field when instead of "here's what kind of cancer you ought to be on the lookout for" it was "this is the horrible and slow way your loved one is going to die, and here's how you can mitigate that while going bankrupt"

How about a Reality Counselor?

[turp182]

Here's how it works.

You will end up looking a lot like your mother or father, depending on your birth gender.

You will have the problems your parents have (propensity for dementia, alcoholism, diabetes, cancer, etc.).

If your grandparents live past 80 take care of yourself and you can too (eat well or exercise, one or the other works, generally). Pay attention to dementia, get your paperwork in order depending on how you want to handle that, just in case.

If you want, ask potential child-birthing partners about their family history. I wouldn't suggest this, let love lead the way and have a good time.

Re:How about a Reality Counselor?

[Oswald McWeany]

Here's how it works.

You will end up looking a lot like your mother or father, depending on your birth gender.

You will have the problems your parents have (propensity for dementia, alcoholism, diabetes, cancer, etc.).

If your grandparents live past 80 take care of yourself and you can too (eat well or exercise, one or the other works, generally). Pay attention to dementia, get your paperwork in order depending on how you want to handle that, just in case.

If you want, ask potential child-birthing partners about their family history. I wouldn't suggest this, let love lead the way and have a good time.

I know a few people who were adopted that don't know who their biological parents are (and by extension grand parents). It's not that uncommon in current society for the dad not to be known to a lot of people in poor groups of society.

Even in my own case, I don't know who one of my biological grandfathers is. (I was able to determine he wasn't biologically related to us through basic understand of dominant and recessive genes... but also because he was away fighting in WWII the whole year when my father was conceived and born).

So lots of people have missing ancestry information- and even for those that don't, recessive genes can go hiding for many generations.

Shortfall?

[monkeyxpress]

It always intrigues me how the job market is considered to have 'shortfalls'. There is no shortfall of genetics councillors. There is a shortage of genetics councilors at the current market price for them.

It's also funny how this sort of thing only applies to the little guys. I'm yet to hear a politician or business leader suggest that rising CEO/banker wages are a sign of a lack of competition for executive jobs, and that policies should be taken to increase supply in those professions.

Re:Counselors?

[puck01]

Genetic counselors function as analysts.

It should be highly emphasized many of these tests are of questionable utility in the real world. How to interpret the results is often not at all intuitive. Its a wild west type of situation and I generally wouldn't recommend having any of these done without proper guidance.