Background
Family physicians (FPs) are increasingly involved in delivering genetic services. Familiarization with aspects of genetic
counseling may enable FPs to help patients make informed choices.
Purpose
Exploration of interactive role-play as a means to raise FPs’ awareness of the process and content of genetic counseling.
Methods
FPs attending two large Canadian family medicine conferences in 2005 were eligible—93 participated. FPs discussed a case during
a one-on-one session with a genetic counselor. Evaluation involved pre and post intervention questionnaires
Results
FPs’ baseline genetic knowledge was self-rated as uniformly poor. Baseline confidence was highest in eliciting family history
and providing psychosocial support and lowest in discussing risks/benefits of genetic testing and counseling process. Post-intervention,
80% of FPs had better appreciation of family history and 97% indicated this was an effective learning experience.
Conclusions
Role-play with FPs is effective in raising awareness of the process and content of genetic counseling and may be applied to
other health disciplines.
Keywords Genetic counseling - Family physicians - Role-play - Genetics education
This research was funded by: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Genetics, The Genetics Education
Project (funded by the Ontario Women’s Health Council), and GeneSens (funded by a CIHR Interdisciplinary Capacity Enhancement
Team Grant).