Sahhar Margaret A, Young Mary-Anne, Sheffield Leslie J, Aitken Maryanne
Genetic Health Services Victoria, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
J Genet Couns. 2005 Aug;14(4):283-94. doi: 10.1007/s10897-005-0572-1.
The demand for genetic counseling services is increasing worldwide. This paper highlights the Australian experience of genetic counselor education and the history of the profession. The relevance of local factors, including the health care system, the education system and the small population in the evolution of the 1-year training programs are considered as an alternative model for emerging programs. The development of the education and training processes compared to that of other countries namely the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada is discussed. The importance of international collaborations between the programs, to facilitate academic discussion and possible curriculum innovations, and to maintain professional understanding between genetic counselors is emphasized. Core genetic counseling competencies have been published for the UK and USA and an Australian set is proposed. In conclusion future directions are considered, including international issues around genetic counseling certification, reciprocity, and the potential for an Australian role in training genetic counselors in South East Asia.
全球对遗传咨询服务的需求正在增加。本文重点介绍了澳大利亚遗传咨询师教育的经验以及该专业的历史。在为期一年的培训项目发展过程中，包括医疗保健系统、教育系统和人口较少等当地因素的相关性被视为新兴项目的一种替代模式。文中讨论了与其他国家（即美国、英国和加拿大）相比，澳大利亚教育和培训过程的发展情况。强调了各项目之间开展国际合作的重要性，以促进学术讨论和可能的课程创新，并维持遗传咨询师之间的专业理解。英国和美国已经公布了遗传咨询的核心能力，本文还提出了一套澳大利亚的核心能力。最后，文章探讨了未来的发展方向，包括围绕遗传咨询认证、互惠性的国际问题，以及澳大利亚在东南亚培训遗传咨询师方面发挥作用的可能性。
