Berro Tala, Amir Fatima, Chan-Smutko Gayun, Lawrence Janette, Channaoui Nadine
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
J Genet Couns. 2020 Apr;29(2):206-211. doi: 10.1002/jgc4.1268. Epub 2020 Mar 27.
The genetic counseling profession began shortly after the Civil Rights Movement, before effective strategies for inclusion of racial minorities had emerged. Given the historical context of the field and the continued lack of diversity in the professional body, inclusion among genetic counselors of social minority backgrounds is important to examine and address. A group of genetic counselors in the Boston area with social minority backgrounds initiated the Boston Minority Genetic Counselors (BMGC) group to bolster interconnection and support for themselves and their local genetic counselors and trainees of social minority backgrounds. In this paper, we describe the formation of the BMGC and its ongoing work. Future directions include using the BMGC model and/or that of similar organizations, such as the Minority Genetic Professionals Network, as a template to create similar genetic counseling groups that provide support around topics of social minority identities and promote sentiments of inclusion across the profession.
遗传咨询行业始于民权运动之后不久，当时尚未出现有效吸纳少数族裔的策略。鉴于该领域的历史背景以及专业群体中持续存在的多样性不足问题，审视并解决具有社会少数族裔背景的遗传咨询师的融入问题至关重要。一群来自波士顿地区、具有社会少数族裔背景的遗传咨询师发起成立了波士顿少数族裔遗传咨询师（BMGC）小组，以加强他们自身之间以及对当地具有社会少数族裔背景的遗传咨询师和学员的联系与支持。在本文中，我们描述了BMGC的形成及其持续开展的工作。未来的方向包括以BMGC模式和/或类似组织（如少数族裔遗传专业人员网络）的模式为模板，创建类似的遗传咨询小组，围绕社会少数族裔身份主题提供支持，并促进整个行业的包容氛围。
