Dear Anita

I think that I care a lot about people like you who inspire me to become better so that is why I am always sending positive wishes your way. Sorry for overwhelming you with positivity. I just finished a phone conversation with the cancer genetic counselor and they were very helpful about explaining the tasks of a genetic counselor. They said that taking some psychology classes can be helpful because genetic counselors often work with people to provide advice about their risks for cancers and it can be emotional for a patient so it is important to learn about the mental aspects of how people feel and think because it can help facilitate communication skills as a genetic counselor. I found this advice helpful because sometimes in my scientific research I have trouble communicating to people in a simple way my research data and if I can understand how people perceive things and how they might think it may help me better understand how to communicate with them. They said that it might be helpful to work with a professor and possibly help them teach a laboratory research class to build up my scientific communication skills. In addition, they said that genetic counselors work some parts doing lab research in a laboratory and some parts with a patient helping them improve their health so it is interactive. Instead of just doing laboratory research, a person gets to see how the laboratory research can help people and make a difference in lives which is what’s most exciting. I am hoping to work with cancer patients and they recommended that I take some classes in cancer Biology or cancer genetics to help me build my knowledge. Since genetic counselors also do genetic testing for cancer risk in patients, they also said taking a Bioinformatics class is helpful because I will learn about gene sequencing and how to look for mutations that lead to cancer. It sounds exciting, but there is a lot of knowledge and I think that meditation will help me develop clarity so that I don’t feel overwhelmed and feel like I have to do this all at once. The cancer genetic counselor said that medical geneticists help research treatments for diseases and work with medical doctors, but genetic counselors just provide advice and do genetic testing for disease assessment. So depending on whether I want to go for genetic counseling which is just providing advice for patients or if I want to be working on treatments for patients then I would have to go to medical school and work as a medical geneticists. There are many possibilities for genetic counseling and research out there and I learned a lot and continue to learn and it’s fascinating.

Dear Anita

Here is a Halloween/ Wiccan Samhain blessings.

Happy All Hallows Eve, Wiccan Samhain and Halloween. May you be blessed with abundance, health and healing from negativity. As the daylight hours fade and colder weather sets in, now is a time to look at the dark parts within you and acknowledge them, shine light into the darkness and illuminate the flaws within and bring them into the light to heal. The veil is thinning between the universe and the physical Earth plane on Samhain/ Halloween and now is the time for your soul to connect with the universe, spend some time reflecting on yourself and your goals, take care of yourself and remember that you are energy of the stars and that you can shine brighter in darkness. Blessings to you in all your life’s goals. Sending positive energy your way to help you through the stressful times. Hope each day brings you a chance to heal and shine light into your life and let your sorrows fall away

Cancer Geneticist Questions

1. What is a typical day like for you as a genetic counselor?

2. Are there any projects that you are currently working on and what aspects of your work are challenging/rewarding?

3. What do you think are important skills/academic courses to take to prepare for genetics research?

4. What advice do you offer to students who are interested in learning more about studying genetics and understanding hereditary cancer, where can they look for resources to build their research skills?

5. What was your first job/research opportunity, and what was that experience like for you?

6. Do you know if there are any internships, volunteer opportunities, job-shadowing roles or entry-level jobs for students considering genetics in your workplace area and what are some good tips to prepare for them?

7. I am interested in exploring cancer genetics as a career path, do you have any recommendations for other people to connect to learn more? May I use your name when reaching out to them?

8. Thank you so much for your advice. Can I stay in touch with you to get advice on my career?

Dear Anita

The phone conversation with the genetic counselor helped me better understand ways to build my scientific research skills. They gave advice on taking courses such as statistics that can help students understand the data analysis and how conducting surveys can help students learn more information about what they are interested in studying. One of the main challenges they say that people studying genetics face is understand how to apply the research they find and how to analyze it for information that is relevant for their topic. Sometimes I have trouble picking out what pieces of the research sources that I find are relevant and I find myself taking lots of notes on my topic when I can shorten them a bit. The main advice they gave was that it is important to look at the research sources that a person finds with a “critical eye” and think about what pieces fit into the topic you are looking for and then summarize those points. They said that while they were in school, they looked for research lab opportunities to gain insight on how to conduct experiments and trials for genetics research in autism. They provided advice on looking for professors that do research in genetics and working with them to gain insight into the career path. Since I am looking for some job-shadowing opportunities to understand genetics research, I am thinking about reaching out to people to see if I can learn more about research in a lab. They said that most of the job-shadowing and internships are in Philadelphia which is far from New Jersey, so my best option is to job-shadow a professor. I think that it was a very insightful discussion and although I felt quite nervous during the phone conversation they were very helpful and provided good advice. I think that my next step is to look for job-shadowing opportunities in New Jersey to build my research skills so that it can help with genetics. Building up the research skills will also help me with Organic Chemistry when I take it in the Spring semester because I will better understand ways to analyze research data. I am thinking of reaching out to some professors to see if there are any research opportunities. Hope you have a good week ahead and good luck with your life’s path.

I think this is a general format of how I might ask the questions, I wonder if they transition well.

Informational Interview Questions- Genetic Counselor (who does genetic research in developmental delays, autism, and epilepsy and cancer risks on the side)

1.   Is there a daily routine for you as a genetic counselor; what is a typical day for you?

2. I find that genetic research in epilepsy and autism is fascinating. Can you provide advice on what kinds of challenges you encounter when doing genetic research and where to look for resources to better understand epilepsy and autism?

3. I have struggled with Physics and Organic Chemistry. Are there any important skills or courses that helped you in your career path decision and what advice for students do you have to prepare for genetic research?

4.  What advice do you offer to people with a high risk for hereditary cancer, and are they receptive to it?

5. What was your first job coming out of school with your degree, and what was that experience like for you?

6. I am interested in becoming a genetic counselor, do you have any suggestions for me such as where to look for entry-level jobs, part-time positions, volunteer opportunities, people to connect to, or internships?

Currently I have finished the questions that I want to ask the genetic counselor who works with assessing people for hereditary cancer risk and developmental disorders such as autism that I will speak to in a phone conversation this upcoming Tuesday 10/29. I wonder if the questions are good and if some of them might be revised because they might be lengthy. Looking for advice, thank you!

Informational Interview Questions Template:

1. What is a typical day or week like in the workplace for a genetic counselor?

2. When assessing people for developmental delays or hereditary cancer risks, what kinds of genetic testing techniques are there?

3. What difficulties do you encounter when providing people with advice to improve their lifestyle if they have a high risk for hereditary cancer or have a child with developmental delays?

4. What kind of education, training or skills does becoming a genetic counselor require?

5. How do most people get into this field? What are some common entry-level jobs, internships, part-time jobs, job-shadowing opportunities that are available?

6. Can you suggest anyone else that I could contact for additional information?

Dear Anita

One of the professors that I emailed about genetics laboratory research responded that there might be internship or laboratory research opportunities available in fall 2020 semester when I will be a senior at Stockton University. This will be helpful because seniors need a science research project as part of the degree requirements for graduation. I plan to take genetics in the Spring semester with this professor so I get to know him better and since I will be a junior in the Spring semester, the genetics class with this professor can help me prepare for research in my senior year with the professor. I am thinking about building up my research skills and looking for advice on any tips, hope you can help. I was considering taking a research methods class to help me gain knowledge about scientific research, but with the classes I plan on taking for the Spring semester I am not sure if I can fit it into my schedule. So I will look for workshops offered by Stockton University and just search online and books on how to be a better researcher because I am going to need it for my studies. I know for certain that I will take Stress and Anxiety class for the Spring semester because it will be helpful learning tips on how to cope with stress and not to let anxiety overwhelm me. Since I will be taking Organic Chemistry in the Spring semester as well, I am working on building my knowledge about that subject and preparing for it more. The labs are what’s most stressful about science classes and I am thinking if I can prepare ahead of time by gaining insight into laboratory research and the experiments, it will be helpful. The lab notebooks can be stressful and working on analyzing the results and writing reports is something that I need to work on. I plan to reach out to professors ahead of time to see what they need for the labs so I can feel more prepared. Thank you so much for your encouragement and have a great day!

Week Blessings:

May your week ahead be filled with positivity and you be protected from negativity

May each day give you something to make you feel happy in life and may there be little strife

Have a blessed week ahead and many blessings for your goals, sending positive energy your way to heal and uplift your soul.