Post 1: What is a genetic counselor?

According to the National Society of Genetic Counselors they have made up the following the following definition for themselves:
"Genetic counseling is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease. This process integrates:

• Talking with families and figuring out what the chances of disease recurrence and occurrence are with in a family pedigree.
• Educating families about prevention, resources, research, inheritance, management, and testing opportunities.
• Finally, we they talk to the families about how to make good choices based off the circumstances of the disease, and the risks of the genetic condition."

Qualifications for a genetic counselors are having a minimum of a master's degree in genetic counseling or a related field. Genetic counseling degree includes training in the fields of human genetics and psychology.  Most genetic counselors are certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling. 

A genetic counselor works with a variety of different patient combinations. They work with couples who are expecting children in the near future to understand the risks of certain genetic disorders that could possibly occur. They work with patients to understand certain genetic disorders and diseases directly effecting them. They also spend a lot of time looking over the family history and what it means from a genetic point of view.

"Genetic Counselor Job Description." Web. Monday Mar. 2011. <http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/7798/Genetic-Counselor.html.>   

"Genetic Counseling." Human Genome Project Information. Monday Sept. 2008. Web. Thursday Mar. 2011. <http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/medicine/genecounseling.shtml>.

"Hemophilia & Genetics Counseling." 2010. Web. <http://www.thereforyou.com/about-hemophilia/gist-of-genetics/genetics-counseling.html>.