Student Work Position: Genetic Counseling Assistant for UPMC Hereditary GI Tumor Program

I work as a Genetic Counseling Assistant (GCA) for the Hereditary Gastrointestinal (GI) Tumor Program at Shadyside Hospital. Part of the responsibilities of my job focus on tasks that we will also be performing in clinical rotations. These tasks include completing patient intake forms prior to appointments, requesting pathology reports, and calling patients for a family history intake. My job also involves entering patient pedigrees into progeny and documenting genetic testing results in patient records and research study databases. I have additional responsibilities in several research studies, and for this part of my work I review consent forms, ask research survey questions, document patient records in research study databases, and research participant follow-up. Lastly, I have the opportunity to provide information and training to incoming students in clinical rotations and the GCA position.

My thesis for the genetic counseling program is related to my position. It is based on our research study that evaluates in-person genetic counseling vs. a pre-recorded video of the information covered in a genetic counseling session for patients newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My thesis project will assess patient satisfaction and knowledge outcomes based on the service delivery model in which they were presented genetic testing information for pancreatic cancer. As part of the project, I attend the multidisciplinary pancreatic cancer clinic at UPMC Hillman and Presbyterian to recruit patients into my thesis study.

Working as a GCA for the Hereditary GI Tumor Program has allowed me to gain extra clinical experience that is valuable in my training as a genetic counselor. Throughout my first year in the genetic counseling program, my work position provided me an opportunity to translate counseling skills discussed in the classroom into practice and as a result, I felt confident going into second-year rotations. In addition, my experience has helped me gain important research and professional skills that will be vital in my career.

Mariele Anneling, Class of 2021