Genetic Counselors Not Keeping Up With Demand
April 29, 2016The number of genetic counselors in the US isn’t keeping pace with the demand for genetic counseling, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.. There are about 4,000 certified genetic counselors in the US, which it says works out to about one genetic counselor for every 80,000 people. It adds that about 30 universities offer master’s degree programs in genetic counseling and though 300 students will graduate from those programs this spring, there are some 650 open genetic counseling positions in the US. Demand for counseling has grown in recent years as more and more conditions can be detected through genetic screening. Counseling is often required both before testing to go over the tests, what they might show and what they might not show, as well as after.