Securing a more stable economic future for genetic counselors

Description
Given the current financial climate across the genomics community, including failing commercial laboratories, limited research funding, and continued pressure to cut healthcare spending in hospitals, it is imperative genetic counselors review our own economic climate. While there is existing research on the demand and value of genetic counseling, little discussion and research exists for the economics of genetic counselors themselves. This session will review how the various factors, including the rising costs of secondary education, financial environment of venture capitalists, grant funding, healthcare billing practices, and government policies impact the demand for our field.   

Level of Instruction
Basic - Entry level; no prior knowledge of subject necessary

Learning Objectives

1. Define the primary pillars to the economic environment of genetic counselors
2. Evaluate how various factors outside the clinic, including venture capital investment and government research funding, impact the market for genetic counselors
3. Formulate various strategies for securing a more stable economic future for genetic counselors

Course summary

Available credit: 
  • 0.10 NSGC CEU
Course opens: 
01/07/2026
Course expires: 
01/07/2028
Cost:
$0.00

Presenter: Samantha Baxter, MS, LGC

Associate Director, Genetic and Genomic Data Sharing & Genetic Counselor, at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Samantha Baxter is the Associate Director, Genetic and Genomic Data Sharing, and a genetic counselor in the Program in Medical and Population Genetics Translational Genomics Group at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Under the direction of Heidi Rehm, she is the operations manager and council member for gnomAD, she co-chairs the policy working group for the GREGoR Consortium, and she leads the TGG’s variant curation team. As part of Baxter’s ongoing research, in partnership with Chan Zuckerberg’s Rare As One network, she uses various curation and gnomAD allele frequencies to estimate the prevalence of rare disease in the global population. Baxter’s work has a strong focus on data modeling and scalable processes for clinical and genomic data sharing, across multiple efforts, including the Broad Institute’s Center for Mendelian Genomics, gnomAD, BRCA Exchange, and the Clinical Genome Resource.

Baxter obtained her M.S. in genetic counseling from the Boston University School of Medicine and holds a B.S. in behavioral neuroscience from Lehigh University. She is certified as a genetic counselor through the American Board of Genetic Counseling and is a licensed genetic counselor in the state of Massachusetts.

 

 

Moderator: Grant Bonesteele, MS, CGC

Clinical Science Liaison at Ambry Genetics

Grant Bonesteele is a Clinical Science Liaison at Ambry Genetics. In this role, he provides support to healthcare providers across the United States, serving as a knowledgeable and reliable resource for genetic testing in oncology, cardiology, and rare disease. Before joining Ambry, Grant was a prenatal genetic counselor at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, TX. Grant received his Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from the University of Texas Health Science Center, and he is certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.

 

Educational Independence and Disclosure Policy

EducateNext is committed to providing independent, objective, and evidence-based educational content. None of the individuals in control of this content—including our planners, reviewers, and approval faculty—have any financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. For all educational sessions, speaker-specific disclosures regarding any potential conflicts of interest are required and will always be shared directly with learners at the beginning of their respective presentations.

Ambry Genetics is approved as a provider for continuing education program by NSGC and ASCLS P.A.C.E ® Programs.

Credit eligibility varies by activity; please see below for the specific credit types offered for this course.

Available Credit

  • 0.10 NSGC CEU

Price

Cost:
$0.00
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Please note: Attendees must track continuing education (CE) credits towards recertification. Credit cannot be claimed for both live and recorded versions of the same webinar; attendance is cross-checked annually. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working toward a single-platform solution to automatically manage dual registration and integrated transcript tracking.