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Genetic counselors with advanced skills: II. A new career trajectory framework
Author(s) -
Davis Claire,
Baty Bonnie J.,
Hippman Catriona,
Trepanier Angela,
Erby Lori
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of genetic counseling
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1573-3599
pISSN - 1059-7700
DOI - 10.1002/jgc4.1204
Subject(s) - career development , genetic counseling , career counseling , nonprobability sampling , psychology , process (computing) , qualitative research , triangulation , medical education , cognitive information processing , applied psychology , medicine , computer science , sociology , population , social science , genetics , cartography , environmental health , biology , geography , operating system
Abstract Career development frameworks help professionals better understand career decision‐making, but the genetic counseling field lacks a comprehensive framework to describe career development. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore commonalities across participants' career trajectories and identify factors which influence decision‐making throughout genetic counseling careers. Using purposive sampling, 17 genetic counselors with advanced skills were interviewed about their career trajectories, factors which influenced career decisions, and the process and outcomes of those decisions. Content analysis was both inductive and deductive, employing triangulation techniques to enhance analytic rigor. Results highlighted common experiences and critical processes of interviewees' career trajectories and contributed to the development of the Genetic Counselor Career Trajectory Framework (GCCTF), which depicts an iterative process of considering change in one's career. Each iteration is prompted by predisposing influences (past experiences, personal attributes, and contextual factors), characterized by self‐assessment and flexible planning, and completed when a decision about making a change is reached. Multiple iterations collectively create evolution of a career trajectory. The GCCTF adds to existing theories of career development by emphasizing dynamic processes of considering change and applies established concepts to a specialized healthcare profession. Individual genetic counselors can utilize the GCCTF to expand awareness of factors influencing a specific career decision and gain insight into experiences of change across their careers.