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01-02-2007 | Original Research

What Is It Like To Be in the Minority? Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Genetic Counseling Profession

Authors: K. Cheri Schoonveld, Patricia McCarthy Veach, Bonnie S. LeRoy

Published in: Journal of Genetic Counseling | Issue 1/2007

Abstract

Increasingly, the genetic counseling profession is recognizing the need for greater ethnic and gender diversity. Recruitment and retention efforts may be enhanced by better understanding of the experience of individuals considered to be underrepresented in the profession. In this qualitative study, 8 genetic counseling students and 7 practicing genetic counselors who were ethnic minority and/or male participated in semi-structured telephone interviews regarding how they were introduced to the field, perceived career supports and barriers, their experiences within training programs and the field, and suggestions for increasing diversity. Introduction to the field tended to be late and accidental. There were several career supports (e.g., field combines science and helping others) and barriers (e.g., lack of information about the field). Participant experiences, although primarily positive, included instances of passive, unintentional discrimination; and there were internal and external pressures to be diversity experts and positive representatives of their group. Participants reported positively impacting colleagues’ cultural competency and offering a different presence within clinical settings. Suggestions for increasing diversity and research recommendations are given.

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Title: What Is It Like To Be in the Minority? Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Genetic Counseling Profession
Authors: K. Cheri Schoonveld
Patricia McCarthy Veach
Bonnie S. LeRoy
Publication date: 01-02-2007
Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers-Plenum Publishers
Published in: Journal of Genetic Counseling / Issue 1/2007
Print ISSN: 1059-7700
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3599
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10897-006-9045-4

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What Is It Like To Be in the Minority? Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Genetic Counseling Profession

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