Lauren Garcia (left) and Aika Miikeda
We work at
the UPMC Hereditary GI Tumor Program as Genetic Counseling Assistants (GCAs).
The majority of patients come to our clinic for hereditary GI cancer risk
assessment or management, including Lynch Syndrome, Familial Adenomatous
Polyposis (FAP), Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC), Familial Pancreatic
Cancer (FPC), and more. The team consists of a gastroenterologist specializing
in hereditary GI predispositions, two genetic counselors, Beth and Eve, and
several research coordinators who enroll and coordinate patient participation
in various research studies. Typically, we see about 10 new patients per week.
Patients with known familial variants may choose to have single-site testing,
and others may be tested using multigene panels that include many cancer
predisposition syndromes. One of our roles as GCAs is to collect relevant
past/current medical histories and family history information before these
appointments. Other tasks include entering pedigrees and genetic test results
and inputting patient information into the research registry. Both of us have
the same roles and are assigned to each genetic counselor in the clinic.
What’s it like to work at the clinic?
Working at
the GI Tumor Clinic continues to be a unique and rewarding experience. Both of
us feel that it's been valuable in our development as future genetic
counselors. It has been especially helpful in applying core genetic counseling
skills, like constructing pedigrees and interpreting genetic test results.
During the beginning of the pandemic, the office set up remote options for the
previous GCAs, which allowed us to have a lot of flexibility when we took our
positions. Both of us had periods where we worked out of the state or out of
the country because we had access to everything we needed from home. Even with
loosening restrictions, we are still mostly remote, which has been helpful
during busy rotation schedules. Each of us stops by the office about once a
week to drop off or pick up paperwork. Typically, the GI clinic has one GCA per
class, but when we entered the program, they decided to hire two GCAs. Having
two GCAs allows us more flexibility and the opportunity to learn and discuss
questions with one another, especially in the current remote nature of our job.
Why did we choose this position?
Lauren:
Before grad school, I had a strong interest in cancer genetics and worked as a
researcher in a cancer laboratory, mainly focusing on breast and ovarian
cancer. I knew that I wanted to continue working in this space and was excited
to apply for this position, as it seemed like a great fit. In addition, I liked
that I would be able to actively apply what I was learning in class, such as
constructing pedigrees, reading test results, and becoming more familiar with
GI cancers and the many roles of a genetic counselor in this environment.
Aika: I have
always been interested in GI cancer predisposition syndromes, and I wanted to
do my thesis on this topic when I got into a GC program. When the GI Tumor
Program work position became available, I was very excited to apply and learn
more from my work position. We are also provided an opportunity to do a thesis
with them, and I am on board with exploring my thesis in the clinic. I am very
thankful for being able to explore my interest in the cancer genetics field as
a GCA.
