Volume 34, Issue 2 e1988
PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

Applying theories, models, and frameworks to help genetic counselors and students achieve clinical and professional goals

Deborah Cragun

Corresponding Author

Deborah Cragun

College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

Correspondence

Deborah Cragun, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.

Email: [email protected]

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Lindsey Victoria

Lindsey Victoria

Labcorp Women's Health and Genetics, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

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Angela R. Bradbury

Angela R. Bradbury

Abramson Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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Marleah Dean

Marleah Dean

Department of Communication, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

Health Outcomes & Behavior Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, USA

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Jada G. Hamilton

Jada G. Hamilton

Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA

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Mira L. Katz

Mira L. Katz

Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion, College of Public Health and the Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

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Alanna Kulchak Rahm

Alanna Kulchak Rahm

Department of Genomic Health, Geisinger, Danville, Pennsylvania, USA

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Jennifer W. Mack

Jennifer W. Mack

Department of Pediatric Oncology and Division of Population Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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Ken Resnicow

Ken Resnicow

University of Michigan School of Public Health, Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

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Kimberly A. Kaphingst

Kimberly A. Kaphingst

Department of Communication and Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

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First published: 27 October 2024

Abstract

Some genetic counselors (GCs) may find theories, models, and frameworks (TMFs) useful in clinical skills selection and when reflecting on or evaluating genetic counseling practice. This paper aims to demonstrate how TMFs can be used to postulate how different skills may impact patients'/clients' decisions, behaviors, and outcomes and consider how multiple TMFs can inform the use of various skills or strategies to achieve different goals. Additionally, we provide examples of TMFs that may help GCs in nonclinical aspects of their work, such as implementing and evaluating new interventions or service delivery models. To guide the selection of appropriate TMFs, we provide a set of questions to consider and include examples of skills and approaches that align with different TMFs. While TMFs provide a structured approach and valuable guidance that may help advance genetic counseling practice, they have certain limitations. Additional research is necessary to determine the effectiveness of using TMFs to guide clinical practice and improve patient/client outcomes.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

Deborah Cragun, Marleah Dean, Jada G. Hamilton, Mira L. Katz, Alanna Kulchak Rahm, Ken Resnicow, and Kimberly A. Kaphingst declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Angela R. Bradbury has partial grant support and advisory funds from Astrazeneca and Merck. Although Lindsey Victoria works for a commercial company, most of her contributions to this paper occurred while she was a graduate student at the University of South Florida, and she reports no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.