Natanya Fleming

How did you pick your career? Did you know all along?

I knew I wanted to be in medicine my whole life, but my first introduction to genetic counseling as a field was actually by chance. I met an oncologist on a plane going to visit my then-fiance. He was drawing a pedigree next to me and I asked him if that was something he was doing for his job; I had just taken my genetics final that day to apply to veterinary school. We talked for the length of the plane ride and he gave me his business card. When I got to the next gate, I looked at the card and realized his office was literally right across the street from where I lived. I emailed him expressing interest in a job. He said he might have something soon and a month later I followed up with a short email saying “All I want for Christmas is a job at your office. Merry Christmas!” The next day, I was hired - in a created position made just for me. The next week, I met the genetic counselor who came in monthly for his hereditary cancer patients and that is when I knew I was going to be changing careers - again. I loved the combination of creatively educating people about science, gaining informed consent, and counseling while sometimes navigating complex situations. I also love drawing pedigrees and talking to people about their family stories.

What is the one piece of career advice you wish someone gave you when you were younger?

Society often makes us feel like there is one path or a binary choice (this or that). But life is so much more than that - not just in career, but in everything. You get to make your own choices for your own life and you get to change your mind (or do more than one "career" at a time). No one else lives your life but you. Is that exciting? Terrifying? (Maybe both of those feelings and a whole lot more?) Don’t stop dreaming, don't stop being curious. Dreams are one of the things that often die with us as we become adults. But dreams can guide us to what we really love, and often fear is what gets in the way of continuing to push forward to a future that excites us, especially if it feels like we're "backtracking" somehow. Don’t let fear squash your passion for life, for love, for your dreams.

When you were a student, did you do anything outside of school to build skills or get knowledge that has helped your career?

I shadowed people. A lot of people. In a lot of different fields. It helped me to see what the day-to-day was really like in careers and helped me see what roles and tasks I was really drawn too. People love showing people their careers (especially if they love what they do), so it's not hard to find people willing to let you shadow them for a few days or a few weeks!

In layperson terms, what do you actually do at work?

I talk to people by phone or video and take their pedigree (visual representation of their medical family history), talk to them about genetic testing options that might be relevant for them and how it may or may not be an answer for them, explain complicated genetic concepts in simple terms, and then later explain those genetic results to them and how it may impact them and their family. I also keep up to date on new information about genetic conditions and write and edit medical reports.

Did anyone ever oppose your career plans when you were young or push you in a direction you did not want to go?

My grandfather always wanted me to be a doctor. A doctor, not just any healthcare professional. At first, I felt like it was kind of the only healthcare profession out there, but then as I shadowed people, I discovered there were so many professions within the healthcare field that interested me and going to school for as long as doctors did wasn't my ideal. My grandfather, until his dying day, wished I had been a doctor even when I told him I was happy being a genetic counselor. I never let his opinions sway me, but it did impact our relationship and that is sad to me.