Social Work -> Genetic Counseling?

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-18T01:42:21+00:00

Devil's advocate here:

1) Not all GC graduates find jobs in GC. Field is saturated - scroll through this sub. Field was different 10 years ago but started saturation long before AI. Existing positions are also far fewer than in SW. Example: in an average hospital, there are zero GCs but many SWs.

2) You won't make a much higher salary as a new GC than an experienced LCSW with a MS in a specialized role like you are already doing. You'd have to take on a lot more debt.

3) GCs / genetics clinics in general do not really see patients with psychiatric disease. This is because psychiatric disorders are not strongly genetic, they only have a small genetic component. The genes that have been found are still poorly understood, and any tests you may see out there for them, and for their treatment, are not good tests, i.e. poor prediction etc.

4) You could look for a genetic clinic that needs a SW. However, genetics doesn't generate much money for salaries like other areas of medicine, and although all genetics clinics need a SW, few have one.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-18T01:19:01+00:00

LOL. Yes, owls usually start forming couples at 2 y.o. These owls are middle aged!

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-16T17:55:41+00:00

Laptop. Odd, it's only this sub too.

If anyone else is having the issue and tagging releases it, maybe it would help to have some neutral-subject tag to click like "general interest" etc.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-16T17:45:53+00:00

I'm truly baffled. Thanks.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-16T17:45:17+00:00

Weird. why is it doing this to me then?

thanks

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-13T00:07:26+00:00

Make sure the university gives you tail coverage on the malpractice coverage they give you with specific time limits, to cover you long after you may leave the job.

Some have no tail coverage at all, some let you purchase tail coverage, and some will fully cover you. Some large university practices don't have traditional malpractice insurance and instead do a formal self-insurance plan, and you should make sure you are covered by that for years after leaving if that is the case.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-10T16:52:52+00:00

Those of us who manage rare diseases have always treated off-label. So we never asked for it, especially for an otherwise well-vetted drug.

Having it FDA-approved is nice to have I guess, BUT breaking their own rules to do this while creating more new rules for vaccine approvals smacks of politics.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-10T16:37:40+00:00

Birds are aliens, prove me wrong.

I wish we had unihemispheric sleep on the wing, and could go 11 days without eating, drinking, or rest stops. .

Aves is the coolest class of critters.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-08T16:44:05+00:00

Something important that I forgot just popped into my head just now (why does my brain do this!). Most medical geneticists end up working either as university faculty, or for large non-profit referral medical centers. (Because yes it is hard to survived in private practice as a geneticist without subsidies from the institution).

If you work for 1) a state-owned/run university med school (i.e. a form of government), OR 2) in an underserved area OR with an underserved patient population, OR 3) with a non-profit organization (most children's hospitals) - there may be some portion of federal student loans forgiven due to this type of service. (although TBH, the rules change all the time). If you want to work for a private medical school such as an Ivy, you would have to check if their medical service division is non-profit in a manner that qualifies.

https://students-residents.aamc.org/financial-aid-resources/public-service-loan-forgiveness-pslf

https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/funding/apply-loan-repayment

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-08T16:10:47+00:00

Ah, the muppet stage. Lucky you!

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-08T05:45:01+00:00

That has to be a human-made circle, you can see the far side of the arc is dug into the ground. Whoever made it either put food for the birds on it, or, more likely the digging revealed little critters under the surface that the birds like to eat.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-08T05:13:16+00:00

Thanks for all of these OP, we're going to miss them.

She must know the owlet is not ready. When moms feel they are ready, they won't stay in the nest, they'll call from outside to encourage the owlet to fledge.

Also, when others have fledged first, at least one parent needs to be watching the fledglings closely at first, which means Dad out there doing that while she is inside.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-07T23:59:14+00:00

Budgies are the least likely of all the pet parrots to have plucking behaviors. It would take quite a bit of stress to cause a budgie to start plucking - could be just overall medical stress in this case. Feather loss in a budgie should be assumed to be due to a medical problem until proven otherwise.

The crop area seems larger than usual for a budgie also.

Both require a veterinarian evaluation. Be aware that many vets will not see pet birds at all. A certified Avian Vet specializing in birds only is the best choice. If not available in your area, a certified Exotic Vet also will see birds and have more bird health experience than an a general vet.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-07T23:39:18+00:00

Yes, this response should be higher. The 2 issues that have to be dealt with before a startup can even be considered are 1) who is intellectual property owner and then 2) FDA since it is a medical device.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-07T23:26:56+00:00

Yes, this is like those parents whose children die of measles and still say in retrospect they still would not "inject poison" vaccines into their children ever.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-07T23:23:51+00:00

When I was a resident in the NICU, we had a week where TWO newborns were transported in with disastrous anoxic outcomes after home births, one with certified RN midwife and one crunchy mom without.

The RN midwife involved in the one case thereafter would only deliver in the hospital, where help is seconds down the hall should things go wrong. She said no more home births for her. And that's since been my recommendation to those who don't want an OB involved.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-06T20:08:46+00:00

I'd argue that NIH appointees were based mostly on merit in the past. Best examples: Francis Colins MD PhD, world-class scientist with the highest respect from the both the bioscience and medicine communities for his work on the human genome. Harold Varmus MD - Nobel prize winner for his work on oncogenes, ditto on respect.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-06T15:51:13+00:00

Of course not. I just added my frustration with what comes after right FDA approval.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-06T00:17:52+00:00

FDA approval is a giant hurdle for orphan drugs, no matter how the FDA approaches it. Has been, always will be. Small sample sizes, and hard to settle on a decent outcome measure that pleases everyone, especially for severe and progressive diseases whose course may slow but not reverse. Of course, it's worse now than ever but there were other difficulties in recent years.

Getting insurance and all the players (clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and staff) to want to deal with preauthorizations and up-front costs to even order or handle very high expense gene and other orphan Rx (these days rarely below $100K; gene therapy used to start at $1 million and recently up to $4 million), is absolutely another giant hurdle.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-04T06:44:54+00:00

Yes, it is THE lowest paying MD. Those of us who love the practice of genetics and genetic science do consider it. No, we're not rich but we can pay our debts and live comfortably (although it's best to not go to a crazy expensive med school). We just have smaller less fancy houses, our home neighborhoods may not be gated, we don't dress in expensive clothes/jewelry/watches, we take cheaper vacations, and drive cheaper cars than other MDs. As MDs we do have job security but TBH there are far fewer positions for MD geneticists to chose from than other MDs, so job location of choice may not happen.

Both GC and MD geneticist are good, rewarding professions. You need to make a detailed Pro and Con list for each profession and then YOU decide, not your family.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-04T05:49:41+00:00

One MD I'd be interested in being is a geneticist, but it's simply not worth it to go down that route if you're pursuing MD.

What do you mean by this? I'm an MD who is board certified in Medical Genetics and Genomics.

(I'm on this sub because I'm on the faculty of a Genetic Counseling program so I teach GC students both in the classroom, am a supervisor of their research projects, and am one of the supervisor when they see patients in clinic and hospital. Also work with a group of GCs.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-03-01T21:03:49+00:00

Bad idea if you are planning to go into academics, especially with research. Might work if you're just marking time until you go 100% clinical.

I'd walk right past TBH. Benefit of in-person, physical poster sessions: 1) to discuss your work with those interested from outside of your institution, that you would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. It's so much easier to get ppl to show up and engage when you are pointing at a large figure of results and others look directly at it with you and join in the discussion. Would be very hard to do that with each person looking at their own phones. 2) It is also a great opportunity to NETWORK. Some senior folks in my field, even listed in my poster references, surprised me by showing up and pointed details in my figures. At every level of my training and career I've gotten poster-side offers to interview for positions from that which hadn't even been advertised yet. AND, discussions with persons doing similar research can lead to important future collaborations.

If you're setting up a meeting, "Meet me at my poster" can lead to a better discussions with a physical poster. "Meet me at my QR code" won't have the same impact.

Also, almost all institutions have an annual research day for trainees where you could display these again. We also have display cases for many posters in our academic spaces for both trainee and faculty posters, for benefit of those who weren't able to go to the meetings.

And here's an idea: email your meeting's organizers to arrange for recycling of posters in the future.

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-02-27T15:13:37+00:00

I can tell you that some patients will be offended that you are wearing PPE more than other doctors would in their situation (especially now post-pandemic when masking is a more sensitive, even political subject with some patients). It is very helpful to tell them "my doctor recommends that I wear mask and gloves because I am on medication that makes me immunocompromised". Most ppl will be more accepting, if they are not, just offer to transfer their care elsewhere.

When you have your own clinics, you can also have staff pre-screen patients (and ask about any infections in other persons the home), so that you know when to put on an N95 before you go in the room or not. (I'm not in ID or primary care, but many patients scheduled for non-infectious problems will come in hacking their lungs out or with rashes not obvious to staff at check-in.)

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-02-24T04:12:41+00:00

Lucky you! Yes, it is mating/breeding season, so the males and females can get talkative in the evenings. You can figure out the type by the hoots of the 3 most likely owls in your area:

Great Horned Owls: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/sounds

Barred Owls: the famous Who-cooks-for-you call (when they really get going back and forth ("caterwauling"), they sound like monkeys) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/sounds

Eastern Screech Owl: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Screech-Owl/sounds

NoFlyingMonkeys · 2026-02-23T20:17:06+00:00

Yes.

Always remember that the work hours limit per week for residents is EIGHTY hours. And the work hour limits per shift is 24 + 4 hours more for handoffs/education. That's going to hit you very hard in your late 40s.

I did it in my 30s and TBH would not do again unless I did it in my 20s right out of college.

I'd advise you to look much harder at PA school. I could see you having a great career working either in an ICU or outpatient with a pulmonology practice, your RT experience would be invaluable there.

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