Strategic Planning — Not Just Words on Paper: A Message From the President

It was wonderful to see so many genetic counselors at the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ Annual Conference last month. Every time I attend, I am awestruck by the incredible work being done by our colleagues, the many ways the genetic counseling profession continues to evolve and the collective passion for enhancing the provision of evidence-based and inclusive services. 

There were several sessions that resonated with me related to ABGC’s role in assessing initial and continuing competence, a few of which I will mention here. The Beverly Rollnick Memorial Lecture on the challenges of gene therapy for sickle cell disease reminded me of the critical importance of evaluating genetic counselor competence in understanding how disparities, inequities and systemic bias affect care and knowing how to provide inclusive, just, equitable and safe care. The professional issues panel on genetic counseling around the globe led me to contemplate whether we need to reassess our ABGC processes for determining whether graduates from programs not accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC) are eligible to sit for our certification exam. The plenary session on long-read sequencing demonstrated the necessity of evaluating continuing genetic counselor competence given rapid changes in technologies and practice. The plenary session describing our new genetic counseling code, 96041, and its potential impact on workflows demonstrates the importance of initial and continuing competence in financial considerations in service delivery. Further, talking to Diplomates at the ABGC booth gave me an opportunity to hear about challenges related to certification and recertification, which can be helpful in informing future practices. 

As a credentialing body, ABGC is responsible for keeping abreast of changes in genetic counseling practice that may impact certification and recertification. We achieve this through many different channels including conducting a practice analysis every five years; gathering input from our board members, volunteer leaders, other genetics organizations and other important partners and Diplomates; incorporating guidance and best practices from our test vendor (Prometric) and the credentialing association we are members of (Institute for Credentialing Excellence); and learning from our staff’s expertise in credentialing practices. Then, every three to four years, we evaluate all this information formally, with Diplomates, experts, and strategic planning facilitators, to develop a new strategic plan. The plan lays out the goals ABGC wants to achieve in the next three years and the specific objectives related to these goals. Strategic planning takes into consideration the fact that there may be many goals an organization wants to accomplish abut realistically cannot due to resource allocation, human resources, structural barriers (e.g., current practices in credentialing) and the current environment. Strategic planning allows us to identify and discuss many goals related to our role in credentialing and then prioritize those that are most important and achievable.

Prior to our official strategic planning meeting, held Nov. 5 – 6, the Board completed initial steps in developing the plan and sent surveys to those impacted to inform this work. Our strategic planning Board meeting then involved meeting in person with our partner organizations to more fully vet and develop a draft plan.

We know there are several issues of key importance to our Diplomates when it comes to ABGC’s work. We hear you and agree that it is our responsibility to ensure the exam is not biased in a way that disadvantages some test takers and that it is a fair measure of competence. We recognize the importance of making the exam financially accessible and providing equitable access. We appreciate the importance of being able to certify in a timely fashion given state licensure laws. We understand the necessity of staying abreast of best practices in certification and assessing whether methods other than multiple choice exams might be viable options.

ABGC is already working on some of these issues. Over the last year, we have reduced exam fees and are now offering a needs-based scholarship to offset the cost of the exam. We continue to take steps to reduce possible bias in the exam by having diverse representation among item writers and Certification Exam Committee (CEC) members, all of whom are provided implicit bias training. We have begun collecting (voluntary) demographic information from candidates as another step towards identifying bias and have convened an Exam Task Force to investigate factors associated with exam performance.

I am proud of the work ABGC is doing and am incredibly honored to work with so many dedicated volunteers and our wonderful staff. But I know there is much more work to do. Through our strategic planning activities, including Diplomate and collaborating organization input, we will identify and prioritize our next steps as an organization. Ultimately, the strategic goals and objectives we develop will be aligned with our core purpose of promoting high standards in genetic counseling, in the context of our core values of integrity, responsiveness, excellence and inclusivity.