Roles of physicians, genetic counselors, and nurses in the genetic counseling process

A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 325 genetic counseling professionals in the southeastern United States and 204 (63%) completed it. Among those responding, 32% held master's degrees in genetic counseling, 30% M.D. degrees, 23% degrees in nursing, and 3% master's degrees in social work. While genetic counseling typically involves team effort, members were generally unclear regarding their roles in the process. Respondents rarely referred their clients to social workers but believe they should. Most did not believe that master's trained genetic counselors should be the only health professional who provide counseling. The respondents strongly supported goals that dealt with the educative aspect of counseling and protection of patient autonomy.