5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study is designed to determine whether meditation is beneficial for genetic counselors and genetic counseling students. The main goal is to see if meditation can help with professional well-being (burnout for genetic counselors, stress for genetic counseling students). The investigators will also explore whether meditation has other benefits for the genetic counseling profession.
Background: - Suicide is one of the main causes of death for adolescents in the U.S. The most effective way to decrease suicide is by training doctors to recognize the risk factors in their clients. One risk factor for suicide is chronic illness. So pediatric genetic counselors come across high-risk clients. But the suicide risk assessment (SRA) practices of these counselors are not well known. Researchers want to study learn more about this. Objectives: - To describe the practices, attitudes, and beliefs of genetic counselors about SRA of adolescents. Eligibility: - Genetic counselors who see adolescents ages 10 21 Design: * A study will be open to a listserv for genetic counselors. * Participants will take a survey on their own. * The survey will be online on a secure website. * Participants will give data about themselves. This can include age, gender, job, etc. * The survey will be about 60 questions. * The survey will take around 20 25 minutes. * The questions are about participants experiences, practices, attitudes, and beliefs about SRA.
This study will examine the experience of moral value conflicts among genetic counselors. Previous research has shown that value conflicts do exist among genetic counselors, but little is known about the nature or consequences of these conflicts. This is a sub-study of the "Manifestations and Consequences of Moral Distress Among Genetic Service Providers: An Exploratory Study," which includes genetic counselors, nurses and medical geneticists. Genetic counselors are recruited for this value-conflict sub-study from among those participating in the Moral Distress study. Participants are interviewed in-depth by telephone about their experiences of moral value conflicts with clients. The interviews cover the following: situations in which the counselor has disagreed with a client's decision or views on a moral level; the counselor's thought processes during and after a session in which conflicts arise; the counselor's feelings and emotions associated with sessions involving a moral value conflict; the counselor's current and previous work settings; the counselor's view of his or her role and responsibility in a client's decision; challenging a client's values or decision; and preparation for value conflicts.
Background: Genetic counselors play a new and evolving role in medical care. Recent advances in genetic testing are changing many health care treatments, and genetic counselors play a key role in teaching people how their genes may affect both health and treatments. Genetic counselors may also help guide people through complex talks about their treatment risks; their chances for recovery; and their social and emotional health and wellbeing. Researchers want to learn more about the role genetic counselors play in health care. Objective: To observe how genetic counselors at NIH manage the social and psychological aspects of patient care. Eligibility: Genetic counselors who work at NIH. People aged 18 years or older who are scheduled to meet with one of these counselors are also needed. Design: An investigator will sit in on the session between the counselor and the participant. The investigator will take notes. The session will not be recorded. The investigator will leave at any point if asked. The investigator will focus on talk about social and psychological care. That person will also listen to talk about risk; diagnosis; odds of recovery; and hope, grief, and loss. That person will note strategies that help the participant manage their emotions and how they perceive their risks. Counselors may later have a 1-hour interview with the investigator. They will answer questions about their experiences as a care provider at NIH. Participants will have only 1 session with the investigator. Counselors may have 4 to 10 sessions with an investigator over 8 months. ...
This study will examine the process of prenatal genetic counseling to determine how various client and counselor factors affect the communication process in a counseling session. The specific aims of the study are to: * Provide information on prenatal genetic counselors' interactions with clients for the basis of a future larger study of the genetic counseling process. * Determine the average length and the range of length of prenatal genetic counselors' interactions with clients when family history information has already been provided. * Document on videotape the communication content and interaction dynamics of prenatal genetic counselors interacting with clients in order to: * Characterize different models of prenatal genetic counseling * Determine the nature of discussions concerning cystic fibrosis carrier testing within the context of prenatal genetic counseling. * Examine the impact of prenatal genetic counselors' characteristics (years of experience, training and background, age, clinical setting, anxiety) on the communication content and interaction dynamics of sessions with clients. * Examine the impact of the presence of a spouse on the communication content and interaction dynamics of prenatal genetic counseling sessions with clients. * Examine the impact of client verbal emotional cues on the communication content and interaction dynamics of prenatal genetic counseling sessions. Counselors will be recruited for this study from among practicing prenatal genetic counselors at regional meetings and a national meeting of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. They will perform prenatal genetic counseling sessions with actors in the roles of client and client's spouse. The sessions will be videotaped, and the counselor and actors will fill out questionnaires regarding the characteristics of the counselor and the session. Counselors may be contacted later to request permission to use segments of their videotaped sessions for creating a video teaching tool for counseling professionals that illustrates different ways to practice the genetic counseling.