Trillium Health Partners offers a Genetics Rotation for students. Depending on a student’s level of experience, interest and available time, students participating in a medical education program rotating through the Genetics clinic will have the opportunity to:
- observe genetic counseling sessions
- participate in taking a family history
- discuss recurrence risks and implications for family members
- learn about common genetic conditions
- interpret and gain appreciation for complex genetic test results
University of Toronto - Mississauga
Credit Valley Hospital has been designated as a teaching site for the University of Toronto Medical School Program. A placement in Genetics has been incorporated into the Paediatric rotation for medical students.
The primary focus of this rotation is learning how to use family history, medical history, physical examination, and the results of previous investigations to establish the differential diagnosis of an underlying genetic cause for a patient’s problems.
Family Medicine Teaching Unit
Family Medicine residents spend time during their first and second years of their residency in Genetics. A Genetics rotation would be of particular interest to those Family Medicine Residents who might plan on having a sub-specialty as part of their practice, such as in Obstetrics & Gynaecology or Oncology.
First year residents spend time learning about how to interpret prenatal screening results (blood tests, ultrasound findings, etc), ethnicity-related screening and how to take and interpret family histories of common genetic conditions they are most likely to encounter in their practice.
Second year residents focus on cancer genetics and how to interpret a family history of cancer to determine if it might be related to a hereditary cancer syndrome, and how a positive result alters the management for the patient and his/her family members. Second year residents also gain exposure on how to interpret a genetic test result and learn about the implications of that result for the patient and his/her family members.
Genetic Counselling Students
Students from Genetic Counselling programs (typically from Canada and the U.S.) have rotated through our clinic. The rotations can range from four to eight weeks. Our Genetic Counsellors are certified by the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors and/or the American Board of Genetic Counselling.
Since we are a general genetics clinic, students can expect exposure to a variety of cases including prenatal, cancer, paediatrics, cardiac, neurologic and adult genetics cases.
Genetic counseling students are expected to participate in all aspects of the clinic, including preparing cases, taking and interpreting family histories, providing risk assessments based on relevant family and medical information, interpreting test results and discussing the implications to at-risk individuals, providing resources for support services, and writing required medical documentation related to a case.
Genetics Outreach
The Geneticists and Genetic Counsellors actively participate in providing genetics education to other health-care providers and the community. A list of recent presentations includes:
- Oncology Rounds at CVH
- Family Practice Rounds at CVH
- Paediatric Rounds at CVH, Mississauga Hospital, Brampton Civic Hospital, Oakville Trafalgar Hospital, ErinOak
- Cardiology Rounds at Mississauga Hospital
- Genetic Rounds at London Health Sciences Centre
- University of Toronto - Networking Night: Alternatives to Medicine
- University of Waterloo – Alternative Careers in Science
- Willow Breast Cancer Support Group
If you are interested in having a Geneticist and/or Genetic Counsellor speak at your facility, please feel free to contact us at (905) 813-4104.
Useful Links:
OMIM: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim
Gene clinics: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/GeneTests
NORD: www.rarediseases.org
Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors: www.cagc-accg.ca
