Genetics professionals' experiences with grief and loss: implications for support and training.

Area of Science:

• Medical Genetics
• Psychology
• Healthcare Professional Training

Background:

• Clinical genetics professionals frequently encounter patients and families experiencing grief, loss, and death.
• A notable percentage of these professionals report discomfort in managing grief and loss situations.
• Inadequate training in end-of-life care and bereavement is a concern among genetics clinicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the comfort levels of clinical genetics professionals with grief and loss.
• To investigate the association between clinician discomfort with grief and clinician distress.
• To identify factors predicting comfort with grief and loss for training and support recommendations.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 300 randomly selected clinical geneticists, genetic counselors, and genetic nurses.
• 172 eligible clinicians completed the survey, yielding a 76% response rate.
• Data analysis focused on comfort levels, distress, training adequacy, and predictive factors.

Main Results:

• Nearly 20% of respondents felt uncomfortable in the presence of grief and loss.
• 29% believed they were not adequately trained to address death, dying, and bereavement.
• Discomfort with grief and loss strongly correlated with clinician distress.

Conclusions:

• A significant minority of clinical genetics professionals lack comfort and adequate preparation for managing grief and loss.
• Perceived training adequacy, tolerance for uncertainty, personal loss experiences, and finding meaning in care predicted comfort.
• Enhanced training and support are recommended to improve clinicians' ability to handle grief and reduce distress.