Facilitating the Genetic Counseling Process Practice-Based Skills, Second Edition

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Instructor Note

• This activity could also be done in groups of three to four students.


• Instead of writing individually, students can think about their responses to the
  questions for a couple of minutes and then discuss with a partner.


• This activity could be assigned as a paper.

Activity 2a: Low-Level Empathy Skills Model

Instructor and a volunteer genetic counseling patient engage in a role-play in which
the counselor demonstrates poor primary empathy (refer to common mistakes in
primary empathy for ideas on how to model a low skill level). Students observe and
take notes of examples of poor empathy.
Estimated time: 5 min.

Process
Students share their examples of poor empathy. Then they discuss with the instruc-
tor the impact of the counselor’s poor empathy on the patient. The patient can offer
her or his impressions of the counselor’s behaviors after the other students have
made their comments.
Estimated time: 10 min.

Activity 2b: High-Level Empathy Skills Model

Instructor and the same volunteer repeat the same role-play; only this time the coun-
selor displays good primary empathy skills. Students take notes of examples of
good empathy skills.
Estimated time: 5 min.

Process
Students share their examples of good empathy. Then they discuss with the instruc-
tor the impact of the counselor’s empathy on the patient. As part of the discussion
they contrast this role-play to the low-level role-play.
Estimated time: 10 min.

Instructor Note

• Students could work together in Think-Pair-Share dyads to identify empathy
  examples and their impact on the patient.


• Students can also comment upon attending skills, but the focus of the processing
  should be on primary empathy.

4.11 Class Activities