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Instructor Note
- Students could work together in Think-Pair-Share dyads to identify examples of
counselor advice and influencing skills and their impact on the patient.
Activity 3: Role-Plays (Small Groups)
Working in small groups, students volunteer to be patient and genetic counselor.
The students read their roles silently. Then the student playing the genetic counselor
reads her or his role aloud. Next the students engage in a 10- to 15-min role-play. If
the student playing the genetic counselor gets stuck, stop the role-play and ask the
group [except for the patient] to brainstorm possible ways to handle the situation.
Resume the role-play, so the student can try out some of the group’s suggestions.
Ask the group to provide feedback to the counselor at the end of the role-play and
have a general discussion about how to handle each type of situation. Allow about
10–15 min to process each role-play.
Patient Role I
You are a 25-year-old woman who is discussing an abnormal prenatal test result
with the genetic counselor. During this session, you say to the counselor, “What
should I do?”
Genetic Counselor Role I
Your patient is a 25-year-old woman who is discussing an abnormal prenatal test
result with you.
Patient Role II
You are a 35-year-old who is talking about whether to pursue testing for Huntington
disease. You should repeatedly ask the counselor for advice, and each time the coun-
selor gives you advice, you should say, “Yes, but...” and then go on to explain why
the advice wouldn’t work.
Genetic Counselor Role II
Your patient is a 35-year-old who is discussing whether to pursue testing for
Huntington disease. The patient does not have a clear idea of what she/he wishes to
do.
Patient Role III
You are a graduate student from China who is 18 weeks pregnant. Ultrasound in
your doctor’s office showed some abnormalities, and you were referred for genetic
counseling to discuss your options. Although you have been able to understand
everything the counselor says, you remain silent when the counselor asks you what
you think you will do if further testing confirms the suspected diagnosis of trisomy
- After all, the counselor is an expert and should tell you what to do. Although
you know what you want to do if the pregnancy is affected, you withhold your
opinion.
10 Providing Guidance: Advice andfiInfluencing Skills