What does a genetic counselor do?
A genetic counselor is a healthcare professional who is responsible for providing risk assessment, education, and support to individuals and families who are at risk for a variety of inherited conditions. Using their specialization in medical genetics and counseling, genetic counselors empower their patients by helping them understand the ways genetics can affect life. They provide emotional support to individuals and families by offering genetic counseling. Genetic counselors must also interpret genetic testing and explain information to their patients in a way that is easy to understand.
Genetic counselor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real genetic counselor resumes:
- Maintain IRB and human subjects data.
- Coordinate, interpret and summarize results of DNA linkage analysis and chromosome studies.
- Maintain all documents including regulatory binders, IRB protocols, consent forms, and other study relate material.
- Coordinate and facilitate genetic testing for all patients interest in pursuing testing.
- Provide patients with case management and disease management including community resources, advocacy, and education.
- Study the molecular link between carcinoma, melanoma, and inflammation using different nonclinical model systems.
- Review and edit complete CDC forms for completeness, legibility and accuracy; obtain missing and/or questionable data.
- Provide MSM with comprehensive knowledge and testing about HIV/AIDS awareness.
- Attend weekly cancer case conference, and present to colleagues on a recent journal publication.
- Perform administrative responsibilities such as entering data on CDC data systems and completing data reports on quarterly basis.
Genetic counselor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 38% of Genetic Counselors are proficient in Patients, Test Results, and Family History.
We break down the percentage of Genetic Counselors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 38%
Provided counseling to Huntington Disease Clinic and Movement Disorder Clinic patients.
- Test Results, 10%
Reported and discussed the significance and implications of abnormal test results with ordering physicians, genetic counselors, and laboratory personnel.
- Family History, 10%
Coordinate appropriate genetic testing based on personal and/or family history and general population screening guidelines.
- Genetic Disorders, 7%
Counseled over a thousand high-risk pregnancies for genetic disorders.
- Informed Consent, 5%
Coordinated genetic testing by obtaining informed consent, initiated insurance authorization, interpreted result, and referred to appropriate management specialist.
- Genetic Services, 3%
Presented the company's genetic testing and genetic services in national conferences
"patients," "test results," and "family history" are among the most common skills that genetic counselors use at work. You can find even more genetic counselor responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a genetic counselor to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what genetic counselors do because "genetic counselors must be able to explain complex information in a way that their clients understand." Additionally, a genetic counselor resume shows how genetic counselors use communication skills: "established a cooperative relationship & maintained open lines of communication with supervisor, employees, and patients. "
The three companies that hire the most genetic counselors are:
- Geisinger Medical Center12 genetic counselors jobs
- ProMedica Toledo Hospital11 genetic counselors jobs
- UPMC7 genetic counselors jobs
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Compare different genetic counselors
Genetic counselor vs. Coordinator of genetic services
Often, counselors are known to be the go-to person in times we are in need of emotional and psychological support. They help people to manage and overcome the issues which affect their mental health and well-being. Counselors face different kind of situations which may involve trauma, addiction, disabilities, abuse, suicide, anger management, career, and even personal relationships. They provide care, counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Every counseling requires collaborative effort both from the counselor and client to become effective.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, genetic counselor responsibilities require skills like "patients," "patient care," "test results," and "family history." Meanwhile a typical coordinator of genetic services has skills in areas such as "provides administrative support," "data entry," "email inquiries," and "general direction." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Coordinators of genetic services tend to reach lower levels of education than genetic counselors. In fact, coordinators of genetic services are 22.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.7% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Genetic counselor vs. Counselor
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that genetic counselor responsibilities requires skills like "patient care," "test results," "family history," and "genetic disorders." But a counselor might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "crisis intervention," "substance abuse," "social work," and "community resources."
Counselors may earn a lower salary than genetic counselors, but counselors earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $37,750. On the other hand, genetic counselors receive higher pay in the non profits industry, where they earn an average salary of $115,710.counselors earn lower levels of education than genetic counselors in general. They're 20.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for genetic counselors in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Bill Buker
Associate Dean and Professor of Professional Counseling, Oral Roberts University
Genetic counselor vs. Pediatric genetic counselor
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from genetic counselor resumes include skills like "patients," "patient care," "test results," and "research projects," whereas a pediatric genetic counselor is more likely to list skills in "clinical care," "general genetics," "adult genetics," and "genetics education. "
Pediatric genetic counselors typically earn lower educational levels compared to genetic counselors. Specifically, they're 5.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Genetic counselor vs. Certified genetic counselor
Even though a few skill sets overlap between genetic counselors and certified genetic counselors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a genetic counselor might have more use for skills like "patients," "patient care," "test results," and "family history." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of certified genetic counselors require skills like "risk assessments," "genetics program," "health cancer," and "direct patient care. "
In general, certified genetic counselors hold higher degree levels compared to genetic counselors. Certified genetic counselors are 5.0% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 2.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of genetic counselor
Updated January 8, 2025
