At the UTGCP, we pride ourselves on the breadth and depth of our students’ exposures in the genetic counseling arena. Patients come to the Texas Medical Center from all over the world for treatment; therefore, the cases seen represent a wide variety of different genetic conditions and the people seen identify with various cultural, religious, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Houston itself is one of the most diverse cities in the nation, with a large number of residents who have roots all over the world, including Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Vietnam, China, Korea, Nigeria, Columbia, India, and Pakistan. Students average over 200 countable cases at the UTGCP, and are therefore well prepared in all medical and psychosocial aspects of genetic counseling upon graduation.
ROTATION FORMAT
Introductory Rotations: Students begin seeing patients in January of the first year. During the spring semester, they rotate for 6 weeks each through the prenatal, cancer, and medical genetics blocks. Students are seeing patients 2 days per week, while also continuing with their didactic course work.
Summer Rotation: This five-week, full-time rotation may occur either in Houston or away from the city to be near friends, family, or significant others. Some students visit a new part of the United States, and a few elect to visit another country. For students interested in increasing their Spanish proficiency, a summer Spanish genetic counseling immersion rotation is available. Since students receive a wealth of cases while on the traditional Introductory and Advanced Rotations, the summer is a time to explore unique offerings. The summer experience also involves a one-week laboratory rotation at the Baylor College of Medicine Medical Genetics Laboratory in Houston. This provides excellent insight into laboratory genetic counseling and genetic testing analysis.
Advanced Rotations: During the second year, students rotate again through prenatal, cancer, and medical genetics for 6 weeks each. With logistics under their belt, students are able to tackle more advanced psychosocial skills and indications. This second trip through the major venues of genetic counseling is relatively unique to the UTGCP, and something that is highly valued by our students. The students gain confidence and independence while expanding their psychosocial repertoire.
Supplemental Rotation: In the spring of the second year, students have a 6-week rotation that may be used to supplement their training in an area of interest, such as counseling in an alternative service delivery model, interning in industry or research, or gain additional exposure in their chosen area of specialty. During the second spring semester, all students also have a short industry exposure and a laboratory experience at the UT MD Anderson School of Health Professions.
Advanced Rotation Exam and Oral Comprehensive Exam: The rotation experience culminates with an Advanced Rotation Exam towards the conclusion of Advanced Rotations. This allows students to identify any remaining skills to focus on during their Supplemental Rotation. After supplemental rotation, there is an Oral Comprehensive Exam in which students demonstrate their clinic readiness before an exam committee. Students who demonstrate competency are ready to function as entry-level genetic counselors upon graduation.
ROTATION SITES
Prenatal: Affiliated institutions include the UTHealth Maternal Fetal Medicine clinics at various UT Physicians clinics, Memorial Hermann Hospital System locations, and LBJ Hospital, as well as The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, and the Texas TIPS Teratogen Call Center. Students become proficient in not only routine indications such as advanced maternal age, abnormal serum screening, and noninvasive prenatal testing, but also in more advanced referrals for abnormal ultrasound findings and family histories.
Cancer: Affiliated institutions include UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT Physicians Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center, and UTMB Cancer Center. Students counsel patients at risk for hereditary cancer syndromes including hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome, hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, familial adenomatous polypsis, and rarer syndromes such as Li-Fraumeni, Cowden, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia and von Hippel -Lindau.
Medical Genetics: Specialty clinics within the UT Physicians, Memorial Hermann Hospital, Shiners Hospital for Children, and LBJ Hospital system include Craniofacial Clinic, Gulf States Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Clinic, Huntington Disease Clinic, Lysosomal/Glycogen Storage Disease Clinic, Mitochondrial Disease Clinic, Neurogenetics Clinic, Osteogenesis Imperfecta Clinic, Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Clinic, and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Clinic. Students see general genetics patients and metabolic patients in the outpatient UTPhysicians clinics and participate in the consult service in the NICU and PICU at Memorial Hermann. In addition to developing fundamental genetic counseling skills, this rotation focuses on the development of clinical assessment and diagnostic skills, including performing measurements and limited physical exams, conducting patient interviews, formulating genetic diagnoses and identifying psychosocial issues related to having a child with genetic and non-genetic birth defects.
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