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Genetics Career help?

If I’m deeply interested in women’s health, babies, fertility, and genetics, what career would allow me to help families understand their genetic makeup and make informed decisions for their future? How can I prepare myself for this career?

medicine healthcare spring26 pediatrics genetics obgyn womens-health
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Suzanne’s Answer

Alanah, have you considered a career as a genetics counselor? These are people who are trained to work with people or families who have risks of genetic disorders or birth defects. They help people understand the implications of various genetic disorders or genetic test results. They also help people cope when they are diagnosed with a genetic disease.

If you think you would enjoy working directly with patients and have an interest in genetics, this might be a good career to investigate further. It requires a masters degree (MS) from an accredited program in genetics counseling. There is such a program, for example, at Wayne State University in Detroit (link is below).

Speak with the pre-health professions counselor at your college and discuss genetic counseling as an option. They can be sure you will know how to be a competitive applicant for the master's programs you apply to.

Good luck and best wishes!

Suzanne recommends the following next steps:

Here's some information from Mayo Clinic about what genetics counselors do: https://college.mayo.edu/academics/explore-health-care-careers/careers-a-z/genetic-counselor/
Take classes in chemistry and biology, especially genetics, in college as well as social sciences.
https://genetics.wayne.edu/education/ms-genetic-counseling
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Bruce’s Answer

Another option to consider is becoming a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant, with an emphasis on genetics and counseling as your clinical practice.

Thanks for your question.
Bruce Peters, DO FAAP, FACOP
Former Chair Pediatrics NSU KPCOM
Pediatrics/Internal Medicine/Addictions
Medical missions

Bruce recommends the following next steps:

Another option is a physician assistant or nurse practitioner with a focus or with an emphasis on genetics as a primary focus.
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Bruce’s Answer

Another option is to consider after completing medical school (DO or MD) is to do a residency in Family medicine or related primary care field (ie Med/Peds etc) and complete a genetics fellowship. If you decide not to a fellowship. You could always choose to go into academic route with any of the primary care fields such as Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Internal medicine etc and pursue academic medicine and research with genetics as your focus. Some medical specialties limit being able to do fellowship training such as family medicine, etc. that should be considered as well when you chose your residency. Thanks for your question.
Bruce Peters, DO FAAP, FACOP
Former Chair Pediatrics NSU KPCOM
Pediatrics/Internal Medicine/Addictions
Medical missions
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