323Activity 7: Small Group Role-Plays
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 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 37-year-old woman who is discussing a positive BRCA result with the
genetic counselor. During this session, you say to the counselor, “Well, would you
wait to have surgery until after you are done having children?”
Genetic Counselor Role I
Your patient is a 37-year-old woman who is discussing a positive BRCA result with
you. During this session, she says....
Patient Role II
You are a 35-year-old who is talking about whether to pursue testing for familial
colon cancer. You are afraid that you will die of cancer just like your father (but are
embarrassed to admit this unless the counselor brings it up). Instead you repeatedly
ask the counselor for advice about what you should do.
Genetic Counselor Role II
Your patient is a 35-year-old who is discussing whether to pursue testing for famil-
ial colon cancer. The patient does not have a clear idea of what she/he wishes to do,
and you suspect this is connected to some underlying issue. You say...
Patient Role III
You are here to see the genetic counselor for cancer counseling as you have a strong
family history of breast cancer. Your educational background is very limited and
you have not been able to understand everything the counselor is telling you.
However, you nod your head and smile and pretend that you do. If the counselor
brings this up with you, don’t admit right away that you do not understand.
Genetic Counselor Role III
Your patient is here to see you for cancer counseling as she has a strong family his-
tory of breast cancer. Your patient has a very limited educational background, and
you do not believe she has understood everything you’ve told her. You say...
Estimated time: 90 min.
11.4 Class Activities