Genetic Counsellor (XR07)
Leeds Teaching Hospitals
This job is now closed
Job summary
An opportunity has arisen to join the Yorkshire Regional Genetics Service (YRGS). The service comprises a substantial team of Consultant Clinical Geneticists, Genetic Counsellors, Genetic Research Nurses, Genomic Associates and a large team of admin and support staff. The YRGS covers a diverse population of approximately 4 million across a large, varied geographical area. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a substantial portion of the genetic counselling service was delivered via telephone and video clinics. We expect this to continue alongside some face to face clinical contacts. For informal enquiries please contact Natalie Mellard (PA) at: Natalie.Mellard@nhs.net
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will be expected to provide an expert genetic counselling service in line with the Job Description and Personal Specification. They will manage their own case-load which will comprise a comprehensive and wide range of genetic conditions, and will include prenatal. There may be scope to develop skills in specific areas depending on the needs of the service and interest of the post-holder. They will also be involved in teaching and training of genetic counselling trainees and other health professionals.
Excellent organisational, time-management, decision-making, communication and interpersonal skills are essential for the post, along with a willingness to adapt to the changing needs of the service.
Due to the current requirements of the service, we would welcome applications from Genetic Counsellors who are already Registered with the Genetic Counsellor Registration Board (GCRB)/AHCS/HCPC, with an MSc or equivalent qualifications, altough applications may be considered for Genetic Counsellors who will be eligible for registration within 12 months.
About us
Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk' members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job adverts are subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or remove adverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in the shortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while this process is completed, and contact the named contact if you have any questions.
Date posted
16 July 2024
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 7
Salary
£43,742 to £50,056 a year
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time, Part-time
Reference number
C9298-PATH-334
Job locations
St. James's University Hospital
Beckett Street
Leeds
LS9 7TF
Job description
Job responsibilities
To act as an autonomous practitioner to help individuals and families deal with a genetic conditions. This is to be achieved by helping the clients and their families to:
comprehend the medical facts, including the diagnosis, probable course of the disorder, and the available management
appreciate the way in which heredity contributes to the disorder, and the risk of recurrence in specified relatives
understand the alternatives for dealing with the risk of recurrence
choose the course of action which seems to them most appropriate
make the best possible adjustment to the disorder in an affected family member and/or the risk of recurrence of that disorder.
To act as a significant educational resource; for trainees in genomic services, to the public, and to the wider health care system.
To be an experienced Genetic Counsellor providing a high quality genetic counselling service at regional specialist level for a population of 4.2 million in the Yorkshire Region. This will involve significant and specialist knowledge of all the principal issues surrounding genetics, the ability to handle enquiries of any field in the first instance and appraisal of what resources need to be mobilized for further patient care. The individual will be expert in their own particular area, often managing the whole clinical episode.
To work independently and unsupervised as well as in various multidisciplinary teams in a variety of settings. This will include lone home visiting and patient care in hospital and other health care settings.
To manage own caseload, ordering investigations and other procedures as required. Support and mentor Genetic Counsellor Trainees and students on placements.
Clinical work will include management of new patients, family studies and follow-up. Patient contact is re-initiated in old patients through the setting up and ongoing management of Genetic Registers and in recruitment for research. Other areas of work range from participation in research projects locally, regionally and nationally. Audits own caseload and other clinical activities presenting findings to whole clinical area. All clinical work is undertaken within a context of specialist cultural awareness. Respond to a variety of teaching requests and other clinical work.
Supports, mentors and provides clinical supervision to a variety of personnel; e.g. MSc. students, and Genetic Counsellor Trainees.
Direct patient care
The jobholder will:
Take responsibility for accepting referrals (from GP, hospital doctor etc) within a defined specialty area, and prioritise action appropriately.
Elicit clients concerns and expectations, as well as a detailed family history.
Interpret medical, family and psychosocial history and confirm diagnostic information about family members
Calculate risks of clients and families being affected by various genetic disorders (including recurrence risks and carrier risks). Identify changes of risk within the family and take responsibility for communicating and applying new scientific information for the benefit of the family over an open-ended time frame, through follow-up systems and audit measures.
Communicate genetic information to clients and their relatives at an appropriate level following assessment of the individual situation. Identify and respond to emerging issues for the client and family.
Receive, analyse and interpret highly complex and frequently conflicting information, and use this to make clinical judgments and manage the implications of this.
Make judgments about, order, interpret and communicate normal and abnormal genomic (and other) test results to patients and health care professionals. This may involve performing phlebotomy in a variety of health care settings or clients homes.
Provide accurate information on the range of options open to a client/family including reproductive and risk-reducing options
Take a lead role in the provision of predictive genetic test consultations with patients.
Organise and partake in joint counselling with colleagues (e.g in cases of complex family dynamics), where individual factors would indicate its utility.
Expertly communicate highly sensitive and potentially psychologically damaging information, which may cause high levels of distress e.g.
o breaking the bad news of positive predictive and confirmatory tests for an untreatable condition such as Huntingtons disease, or a condition that causes a high risk of developing various cancers.
o giving a couple an unexpected abnormal prenatal finding, or news that their fetus is affected with a severe condition where termination of pregnancy is an option
o counselling terminally ill patients about the chances that their illness may be the result of an inherited gene that they have a high chance of having passed it onto their children
Assess when clients have additional needs (e.g. therapeutic counseling or psychiatric support, support group, social care services) and mobilise resources and make onward referrals for this
Communicate with clients who are bereaved and provide support e.g. around termination of pregnancy, death at young age etc.
Initiate timely interventions, sometimes acting as patient advocate e.g. in termination of pregnancy, timing of risk-reducing surgery etc.
Use expert counselling skills and techniques to counsel clients about various testing options and facilitate decision-making. Manage clients who have great difficulty accepting a clinical diagnosis or a genetic test result.
Identify and manage conflict within families created by sensitive genetic/genomic information.
Manage conflict when clients demands are incompatible with professional responsibilities and resources.
Use advanced counselling skills to communicate sensitively and expertly in difficult and often unexpected situations, e.g.;
o in the presence of language and/or cultural differences or disability requiring the aid of an interpreter
o when dealing with cases where there is antagonism and anger or in a highly sensitive atmosphere e.g. in complex ethical cases where expectations differ
o in cases of psychiatric illness or learning difficulties where expert communication skills are required
Assess an individuals ability to understand the highly complex nature of genetics/genomics and adapt the information, concepts and options to suit their individual needs, this may mean devising visual aids, diagrams, models and skill in assessing language and cultural needs etc.
Advise on factors that reduce risk (e.g. risk-reducing surgery, high dose folic acid) and on factors that influence risk (e.g. contraceptive pill, HRT).
Prepare letters to patients summarising clinic consultations and giving test results using the appropriate level of detail. This involves skilled use of dictation tools to appropriately delegate work to secretarial staff.
Be aware of, and follow, accepted protocols and policies on a departmental, local and national level.
Work independently and unsupervised as well as in various multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in a variety of health disciplines. This may include lone home visiting and patient care in hospital and other health care settings.
Manage own caseload; ordering investigations and other procedures as required using departmental recall policies. This will include interpreting genomics test results (as part of a multidisciplinary team if necessary). The jobholder will take responsibility for a particular area subspecialty.
Ensure that all clinical documents are legible, up to date and accurate.
Possess the personal skills and development that allows significant self-reflection and insight in order to comprehend and utilise dynamic counselling processes.
Communication with Colleagues
The jobholder will:
Liaise with laboratory colleagues to order and communicate about genomic tests and to discuss complex test results which are difficult to interpret
Liaise with relevant colleagues when arranging timely interventions e.g. a termination of pregnancy following an abnormal prenatal result, invasive specialist investigations, risk-reducing surgery etc.
Liaise regionally, nationally and internationally with other laboratories, departments of histology, surgery, screening, fetal medicine, midwifery, neurology, psychiatry, cardiology to obtain and provide information
Liaise with colleagues in other genomics centres to obtain and provide information and to establish understanding and co-operation within the legal constraints of patient confidentiality.
Write letters to referring clinicians and other clinicians appropriate to that episode of care.
Liaise with medical colleagues about issues that have diagnostic or clinical complexity. This may be as part of a formal MDT.
Identify and discuss cases of ethical complexity
Appropriately use databases and IT packages/web applications in patient care.
Educating, advising and contributing to service improvement
The jobholder will:
Carry out audits and client satisfaction surveys and present findings to departmental members.
Act as an educational resource, including formalised teaching sessions and informally providing advice where appropriate.
Take part in duty rotas for providing advice to patients, colleagues and the wider healthcare system. This can involve taking and acting on urgent referrals for clients in distress or in a vulnerable situation.
Form part of MDTs (including supporting patient care in the mainstream setting).
Develop and utilise patient information leaflets.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To act as an autonomous practitioner to help individuals and families deal with a genetic conditions. This is to be achieved by helping the clients and their families to:
comprehend the medical facts, including the diagnosis, probable course of the disorder, and the available management
appreciate the way in which heredity contributes to the disorder, and the risk of recurrence in specified relatives
understand the alternatives for dealing with the risk of recurrence
choose the course of action which seems to them most appropriate
make the best possible adjustment to the disorder in an affected family member and/or the risk of recurrence of that disorder.
To act as a significant educational resource; for trainees in genomic services, to the public, and to the wider health care system.
To be an experienced Genetic Counsellor providing a high quality genetic counselling service at regional specialist level for a population of 4.2 million in the Yorkshire Region. This will involve significant and specialist knowledge of all the principal issues surrounding genetics, the ability to handle enquiries of any field in the first instance and appraisal of what resources need to be mobilized for further patient care. The individual will be expert in their own particular area, often managing the whole clinical episode.
To work independently and unsupervised as well as in various multidisciplinary teams in a variety of settings. This will include lone home visiting and patient care in hospital and other health care settings.
To manage own caseload, ordering investigations and other procedures as required. Support and mentor Genetic Counsellor Trainees and students on placements.
Clinical work will include management of new patients, family studies and follow-up. Patient contact is re-initiated in old patients through the setting up and ongoing management of Genetic Registers and in recruitment for research. Other areas of work range from participation in research projects locally, regionally and nationally. Audits own caseload and other clinical activities presenting findings to whole clinical area. All clinical work is undertaken within a context of specialist cultural awareness. Respond to a variety of teaching requests and other clinical work.
Supports, mentors and provides clinical supervision to a variety of personnel; e.g. MSc. students, and Genetic Counsellor Trainees.
Direct patient care
The jobholder will:
Take responsibility for accepting referrals (from GP, hospital doctor etc) within a defined specialty area, and prioritise action appropriately.
Elicit clients concerns and expectations, as well as a detailed family history.
Interpret medical, family and psychosocial history and confirm diagnostic information about family members
Calculate risks of clients and families being affected by various genetic disorders (including recurrence risks and carrier risks). Identify changes of risk within the family and take responsibility for communicating and applying new scientific information for the benefit of the family over an open-ended time frame, through follow-up systems and audit measures.
Communicate genetic information to clients and their relatives at an appropriate level following assessment of the individual situation. Identify and respond to emerging issues for the client and family.
Receive, analyse and interpret highly complex and frequently conflicting information, and use this to make clinical judgments and manage the implications of this.
Make judgments about, order, interpret and communicate normal and abnormal genomic (and other) test results to patients and health care professionals. This may involve performing phlebotomy in a variety of health care settings or clients homes.
Provide accurate information on the range of options open to a client/family including reproductive and risk-reducing options
Take a lead role in the provision of predictive genetic test consultations with patients.
Organise and partake in joint counselling with colleagues (e.g in cases of complex family dynamics), where individual factors would indicate its utility.
Expertly communicate highly sensitive and potentially psychologically damaging information, which may cause high levels of distress e.g.
o breaking the bad news of positive predictive and confirmatory tests for an untreatable condition such as Huntingtons disease, or a condition that causes a high risk of developing various cancers.
o giving a couple an unexpected abnormal prenatal finding, or news that their fetus is affected with a severe condition where termination of pregnancy is an option
o counselling terminally ill patients about the chances that their illness may be the result of an inherited gene that they have a high chance of having passed it onto their children
Assess when clients have additional needs (e.g. therapeutic counseling or psychiatric support, support group, social care services) and mobilise resources and make onward referrals for this
Communicate with clients who are bereaved and provide support e.g. around termination of pregnancy, death at young age etc.
Initiate timely interventions, sometimes acting as patient advocate e.g. in termination of pregnancy, timing of risk-reducing surgery etc.
Use expert counselling skills and techniques to counsel clients about various testing options and facilitate decision-making. Manage clients who have great difficulty accepting a clinical diagnosis or a genetic test result.
Identify and manage conflict within families created by sensitive genetic/genomic information.
Manage conflict when clients demands are incompatible with professional responsibilities and resources.
Use advanced counselling skills to communicate sensitively and expertly in difficult and often unexpected situations, e.g.;
o in the presence of language and/or cultural differences or disability requiring the aid of an interpreter
o when dealing with cases where there is antagonism and anger or in a highly sensitive atmosphere e.g. in complex ethical cases where expectations differ
o in cases of psychiatric illness or learning difficulties where expert communication skills are required
Assess an individuals ability to understand the highly complex nature of genetics/genomics and adapt the information, concepts and options to suit their individual needs, this may mean devising visual aids, diagrams, models and skill in assessing language and cultural needs etc.
Advise on factors that reduce risk (e.g. risk-reducing surgery, high dose folic acid) and on factors that influence risk (e.g. contraceptive pill, HRT).
Prepare letters to patients summarising clinic consultations and giving test results using the appropriate level of detail. This involves skilled use of dictation tools to appropriately delegate work to secretarial staff.
Be aware of, and follow, accepted protocols and policies on a departmental, local and national level.
Work independently and unsupervised as well as in various multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) in a variety of health disciplines. This may include lone home visiting and patient care in hospital and other health care settings.
Manage own caseload; ordering investigations and other procedures as required using departmental recall policies. This will include interpreting genomics test results (as part of a multidisciplinary team if necessary). The jobholder will take responsibility for a particular area subspecialty.
Ensure that all clinical documents are legible, up to date and accurate.
Possess the personal skills and development that allows significant self-reflection and insight in order to comprehend and utilise dynamic counselling processes.
Communication with Colleagues
The jobholder will:
Liaise with laboratory colleagues to order and communicate about genomic tests and to discuss complex test results which are difficult to interpret
Liaise with relevant colleagues when arranging timely interventions e.g. a termination of pregnancy following an abnormal prenatal result, invasive specialist investigations, risk-reducing surgery etc.
Liaise regionally, nationally and internationally with other laboratories, departments of histology, surgery, screening, fetal medicine, midwifery, neurology, psychiatry, cardiology to obtain and provide information
Liaise with colleagues in other genomics centres to obtain and provide information and to establish understanding and co-operation within the legal constraints of patient confidentiality.
Write letters to referring clinicians and other clinicians appropriate to that episode of care.
Liaise with medical colleagues about issues that have diagnostic or clinical complexity. This may be as part of a formal MDT.
Identify and discuss cases of ethical complexity
Appropriately use databases and IT packages/web applications in patient care.
Educating, advising and contributing to service improvement
The jobholder will:
Carry out audits and client satisfaction surveys and present findings to departmental members.
Act as an educational resource, including formalised teaching sessions and informally providing advice where appropriate.
Take part in duty rotas for providing advice to patients, colleagues and the wider healthcare system. This can involve taking and acting on urgent referrals for clients in distress or in a vulnerable situation.
Form part of MDTs (including supporting patient care in the mainstream setting).
Develop and utilise patient information leaflets.
Person Specification
Additional Requirements
Essential
- Able to fulfil Occupational Health requirements for the post including clearance on blood borne viruses in compliance with Trust Policy.
Experience
Essential
- Ability to analyse research findings to inform practice development.
- A knowledge of genomics obtained through graduate/post-graduate courses.
- Familiarity with databases and word processing.
Desirable
- Knowledge of cancer genetics.
- Knowledge of genomics bioinformatics
- Experience of teaching
- Experience of research and audit
Skills & behaviours
Essential
- Ability to work autonomously and manage independent clinical caseload.
- Ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to reflect on own practice, including through the formal supervision process
- Alignment with LTHT core values and behaviours
- Resilient and able to work under pressure
- Phlebotomy (or be willing to be trained)
- Ability to travel to peripheral hospital sites or make home visits in a timely manner adhering to LTHT information governance policies
Qualifications
Essential
- STP Genomic Counselling qualification with associated HCPC professional registration
- OR
- MSc. in Genetic Counselling AND GCRB/AHCS Registered
- Experience of working within an NHS regional genetics service or equivalent
- Relevant training in Genetics and Counselling in order to perform at a highly specialist level.
Desirable
- Formal counselling qualification
- PhD in genetics/health/social care
Person Specification
Additional Requirements
Essential
- Able to fulfil Occupational Health requirements for the post including clearance on blood borne viruses in compliance with Trust Policy.
Experience
Essential
- Ability to analyse research findings to inform practice development.
- A knowledge of genomics obtained through graduate/post-graduate courses.
- Familiarity with databases and word processing.
Desirable
- Knowledge of cancer genetics.
- Knowledge of genomics bioinformatics
- Experience of teaching
- Experience of research and audit
Skills & behaviours
Essential
- Ability to work autonomously and manage independent clinical caseload.
- Ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to reflect on own practice, including through the formal supervision process
- Alignment with LTHT core values and behaviours
- Resilient and able to work under pressure
- Phlebotomy (or be willing to be trained)
- Ability to travel to peripheral hospital sites or make home visits in a timely manner adhering to LTHT information governance policies
Qualifications
Essential
- STP Genomic Counselling qualification with associated HCPC professional registration
- OR
- MSc. in Genetic Counselling AND GCRB/AHCS Registered
- Experience of working within an NHS regional genetics service or equivalent
- Relevant training in Genetics and Counselling in order to perform at a highly specialist level.
Desirable
- Formal counselling qualification
- PhD in genetics/health/social care
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
Leeds Teaching Hospitals
Address
St. James's University Hospital
Beckett Street
Leeds
LS9 7TF
Employer's website
https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer details
Employer name
Leeds Teaching Hospitals
Address
St. James's University Hospital
Beckett Street
Leeds
LS9 7TF
Employer's website
https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
For questions about the job, contact:
Date posted
16 July 2024
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 7
Salary
£43,742 to £50,056 a year
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time, Part-time
Reference number
C9298-PATH-334
Job locations
St. James's University Hospital
Beckett Street
Leeds
LS9 7TF
Supporting documents
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