Genetic counselors with advanced skills: II. A new career trajectory framework.

Davis C1, Baty BJ2, Hippman C3, Trepanier A4, Erby L5.

Author information

1: Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, USA.
2: Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
3: Women's Health Research Institute & BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Research Institute, BC Women's & Children's Hospitals, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
4: Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
5: Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Abstract

Career development frameworks help professionals better understand career decision-making, but the genetic counseling field lacks a comprehensive framework to describe career development. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore commonalities across participants' career trajectories and identify factors which influence decision-making throughout genetic counseling careers. Using purposive sampling, 17 genetic counselors with advanced skills were interviewed about their career trajectories, factors which influenced career decisions, and the process and outcomes of those decisions. Content analysis was both inductive and deductive, employing triangulation techniques to enhance analytic rigor. Results highlighted common experiences and critical processes of interviewees' career trajectories and contributed to the development of the Genetic Counselor Career Trajectory Framework (GCCTF), which depicts an iterative process of considering change in one's career. Each iteration is prompted by predisposing influences (past experiences, personal attributes, and contextual factors), characterized by self-assessment and flexible planning, and completed when a decision about making a change is reached. Multiple iterations collectively create evolution of a career trajectory. The GCCTF adds to existing theories of career development by emphasizing dynamic processes of considering change and applies established concepts to a specialized healthcare profession. Individual genetic counselors can utilize the GCCTF to expand awareness of factors influencing a specific career decision and gain insight into experiences of change across their careers.