General Rotation Goals

The clinical rotations are an integral part of training for genetic counselors and serve to provide students with opportunities to increase their general clinical knowledge, gain experience with counseling for a variety of indications and develop the necessary skills and competencies required for the practice of genetic counseling. The evaluation form is based on the ACGC practice-based competencies and provides the general learning objectives for students as they progress through their rotations. Each student will be assigned to five rotations; a summer rotation, and four second-year rotations. The student, with guidance from the clinical supervisor, should establish a set of skill-based specific rotation goals for each of the five rotations as outlined below.

Specific Rotation Goals

1. Self-assessment – Students should make a self assessment of their clinical strengths and/or deficiencies. This includes a self-evaluation, reflection on the evaluations and feedback received during previous clinical experiences, and personal goals with regard to the clinical rotation.
2. Discussion with clinical supervisor about available learning and practice opportunities – Clinical supervisors should make students aware of the learning and practice opportunities available during the rotation. The student should gain a realistic understanding of the types and numbers of patients they might be involved with during the rotation, the particular areas of expertise represented by the physicians and counselors with whom the student will work during the rotations.
3. Preliminary list of rotation goals – The student will select, in consultation with the clinical supervisor, a list of specific goals for the rotation that are developmentally appropriate for where the student is in their rotation sequence. Rotation goals or language for rotation goals may be selected from the list of sample goals found in the document “Clinical Rotations- Performance Level Descriptions”. This document provides performance levels 1-3 for each ACGC practice based competency thus allows students and supervisors to tailor rotation goals to a student’s development. Rotation goals may also be specific to the student and/or rotation site.

Goals Worksheet

You must submit a complete Goals Worksheet to Randi Stewart by the end of the first week of each rotation.

Goals worksheet (PDF file)

Goals worksheet (MS Word file)