ANNUAL PUBLICATION FOR THE CERTIFIED GENETIC COUNSELOR™
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President’s Perspective What a year so far! We are just over halfway through 2020, and so much has changed in a mere seven months. On behalf of a dedicated Board of Directors and talented Adam Buchanan, MS, MPH, CGC group of volunteers, I ABGC President want to thank you for all of your support, thoughtfulness and meaningful input. I would also like to tell you what ABGC is focused on right now and where we are headed for the remainder of this year. While we continue our bread-and-butter of maintaining a rigorous certification exam, we will focus on the following activities to protect the public, advocate for our Diplomates and elevate the Certified Genetic Counselor credential.
◗ Welcome to our Newest Board Members!............................................ 3 ◗ C ertification Examination Performance . .................................... 3
August Exam Administration and COVID-19
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts
The Board of Directors and the Executive Office staff worked diligently with PSI, our exam partner, and the National Commission on Certifying Agencies (NCCA) our accreditor, to provide August exam candidates the option of live remote proctoring as an exam administration format. Candidates for the August exam may choose to report to a testing center (which have social distancing precautions in place) or schedule a live remote proctoring session. We are so pleased to be able to work with our partners to bring options for all of our candidates to ensure their safety and wellbeing.
ABGC recognizes that we must take concrete steps to help our profession reflect the wonderful diversity of the patients we see and communities in which we live. In June, ABGC held a Twitter chat to listen to the thoughts, concerns, and opinions of the genetic counseling community. Following the chat, ABGC’s Board of Directors made the following commitments to our Diplomates and GC community at large to work toward substantive change:
NCCA approved ABGC, and other approved applicants, for live remote proctoring for a limited window of opportunity. NCCA is using this opportunity to determine if live remote proctoring satisfies the accreditation security and administration process. We will keep everyone posted on whether it will remain available for ABGC candidates in the future.
◗ Beyond Practice-based Competencies: Genetic Counseling Reassignments in the Covid -19 Pandemic......................4
1. Seek a consultant/consulting firm to review the exam’s items and development process for implicit bias. a. If you would like to recommend an individual or company with experience in identifying and addressing implicit bias, standardized measurement practices and genetics, please email ABGC’s Executive Director Sheila O’Neal at soneal@abgc.net. continued on page 2
◗ S taying Social while Keeping Socially Distant – The G enetic Counseling Community on Social Media.......................................6
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