Department of Genetic Counseling, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
Department of Molecular Genetic Pathology, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
J Genet Couns. 2024 Jun;33(3):554-565. doi: 10.1002/jgc4.1761. Epub 2023 Aug 1.
Previous studies have identified factors that influence genetic counseling applicants' decisions to initially apply to certain schools. However, research on the factors that influence their Genetic Counseling Admissions Match (GCAM) rank order preferences are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate these factors via an online survey sent to current students and recent graduates who participated in the GCAM. Participants (N = 415) were asked to rank factors within six categories (faculty, students, didactic curriculum, clinical training, cost of attendance, and general program information) on a 7-point Likert scale. Factors related to clinical training were most influential to applicants (M = 5.68), while factors related to didactic training were least influential to applicants (M = 4.63). Several significant differences existed between underrepresented and overrepresented applicants; overrepresented was defined as White, non-Hispanic female. Underrepresented applicants were more influenced by the diversity of program faculty (p = 0.016), students (p ≤ 0.001), and the location/patient population (p = 0.003), while overrepresented applicants are more influenced by program graduation and board pass rates (p = 0.021). The results of our study suggest that GCAM rank preferences are influenced by a large number of factors. Additionally, by demonstrating significant differences in the influence of program diversity on underrepresented applicants, the results of our study suggest that JEDI efforts of genetic counseling training programs should continue to be an area of focus, in order to create a more welcoming environment for all students and to further diversify the genetic counseling profession.
先前的研究已经确定了影响遗传咨询申请人最初申请某些学校的因素。然而，关于影响他们遗传咨询录取匹配（GCAM）排名偏好的因素的研究有限。本研究的目的是通过向参与 GCAM 的当前学生和最近的毕业生发送在线调查来研究这些因素。参与者（N=415）被要求在 7 点李克特量表上对六个类别（教师、学生、理论课程、临床培训、就读成本和一般项目信息）中的因素进行排名。与临床培训相关的因素对申请人的影响最大（M=5.68），而与理论培训相关的因素对申请人的影响最小（M=4.63）。代表性不足和代表性过高的申请人之间存在几个显著差异；代表性过高是指白人、非西班牙裔女性。代表性不足的申请人更容易受到项目教师（p=0.016）、学生（p≤0.001）和地点/患者群体（p=0.003）多样性的影响，而代表性过高的申请人更容易受到项目毕业率和董事会通过率（p=0.021）的影响。我们的研究结果表明，GCAM 排名偏好受到许多因素的影响。此外，通过展示项目多样性对代表性不足的申请人的影响存在显著差异，我们的研究结果表明，遗传咨询培训项目的 JEDI 努力应继续成为一个关注重点，以创造一个对所有学生更具包容性的环境，并进一步使遗传咨询行业多样化。
