Date of Award

5-2015

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

MS Human Genetics

Department

Human Genetics Graduate Program

Abstract

This article describes the development of the website “Become a Genetic Counselor”. The website is created to facilitate the recruitment of underrepresented minorities (URM’s) into the genetic counseling profession, specifically African- Americans and Latinos. URM’s have been found to make decisions about future career paths earlier than Caucasians, as early as middle school or high school. Thus “Become a Genetic Counselor” is targeted to African-American and Latino students ranging from middle-school age through college age. URM’s have fewer family and social influences who know about genetic counseling, have fewer role models in the healthcare industries, and are more likely to have financial barriers to higher education. “Become a Genetic Counselor” is designed to be a comprehensive resource to address the barriers to entering into the genetic counseling profession encountered by URM’s. The website defines genetic counselors and genetic counseling, describes the work that genetic counselors do and the settings that they work in, provides detailed information about how to prepare for entering into a genetic counseling graduate program and how to finance the education, and introduces role models in the field, in the form of autobiographical interviews.

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