Program Overview

Program Overview

The Australasian Society of Genetic Counselors (ASGC) Mentor Program is a 6-month program that matches mentees with experienced genetic counselors who have more than 10 years of experience. The program aims to evaluate and assess the overall satisfaction and acceptability of the program, the matching process, and barriers to participation.

Program Details

• The program is designed for genetic counselors with less than 5 years of experience.
• The program matches mentees with experienced genetic counselors who have more than 10 years of experience.
• The program duration is 6 months.
• The program uses an explanatory mixed-method design with cross-sectional surveys deployed at baseline and follow-up and opt-in semi-structured interviews.

Program Evaluation

• The program evaluation included 15 mentors and 15 mentees (N = 30) from 17 dyads.
• The response rate was 83%.
• Eighteen participants completed the post-program survey, and 12 were interviewed.
• The majority of participants were female (93%), European (90%), and worked clinically in public hospitals (63%).

Program Outcomes

• The majority of participants (89%) achieved their goals.
• All participants would recommend the program.
• Most participants (61%) found the mentor/mentee matching to be excellent.
• 44% of participants believed they would continue the relationship after the program.

Conclusion

The ASGC Mentor Program filled a gap in professional development within the Australian and New Zealand genetic counseling community and highlighted a general desire to share knowledge with new members of the profession.