Talking to policy makers about genetic counseling: A personal reflection

Many genetic counselors will, at some point in their career, work alongside policy makers either at a local, regional, or national level. This commentary reflects my personal experience of working with policy makers in the National Health Service (NHS) in England. It outlines the challenges I faced and the lessons that I learnt along the way. This article is not meant to be a 'how to guide', rather to provide some practical tips to those new to working in policy and strategy. Throughout this commentary, I have compared working with policy makers with other areas that I have worked in, including genetic counseling, and shown how I have drawn on different skills to support this new area of my work. I hope that others will be able to reflect on my experience and see how they can also use their own attributes in similar situations.