First Quarter Wrap-up

With our first quarter wrapping up and winter rolling in, it has been a very busy few weeks for us at the UC/CCHMC Genetic Counseling program.  With the unseasonably warm weather, it has been a challenge for us to start buckling down and studying for our finals next week.  The second years came back from the NSGC conference in San Diego and we were all very jealous.  It sounds like they had a blast at the conference and I can’t wait to go next year.  It is nice to look forward to three weeks without Molecular Genetics exams, lectures, or all of our other time commitments in a busy schedule with winter break coming up.  It hasn’t been all work though, we have still found time to get together to have a Thanksgiving feast with our classmates, tried many local eateries together, and have had volunteer activities such as PROM and VCFS support group.  It has so far been a very rewarding experience and it is shaping up to be a wonderful end to 2011. 

As a first year, I also started clinic rotations since my last blog post.  All of us first years are in an observational rotation with various clinics.  I am in general pediatrics right now and have learned so much from just observing a genetic counselor for a few cases a week, as well as figuring out case prep, EPIC, and case summaries.  It is just as exciting as I thought it would be, and I think everyone else in the year agrees.  I am learning more than I had hoped about specific disorders, and have seen a few really interesting cases.  We are getting more into role plays in class with IGC , and this helps with clinic too as we are practicing empathy, contracting, and medical intakes.  I am looking forward to lysosomal storage disorder clinic next quarter, as that will bring on a whole new set of genetic conditions for me to learn about, as well as taking on a role or two.  Yikes!

Recently we first years have gotten our thesis matches which we will be spending the next year and a half on.  There were many interesting topics, such as exomic sequencing, personalized medicine, and a study looking at direct-to-consumer testing.  I received my match on looking at adoptive parents with children who have DMD and their experiences.  I am so excited to get started, and I know a lot of the other first years are as well. 

I am hoping to make a more specific post about things we have learned such as exomic sequencing, course work, and other program happenings over winter break, so stay tuned! : )

Posted by Amy Gladstone, First Year Student

Hello from the Class of 2013!

     After about a month of being in the Genetic Counseling Program here at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, we have learned a lot of lessons, both inside the program and out.  With roughly half of us moving to Ohio for the program, we have settled down and are adjusting to life in Cincinnati as well as life in the program.  We come from all over, with five of us from Ohio, two of us from Michigan, and North Carolina, California, Georgia, Washington, Virginia and Kenya are represented as well.  Coming from Michigan personally, I didn’t expect much of a change as Ohio is still the mid-west, and I thought I would not have much of an adjustment to make since Cincinnati is roughly the size of Detroit.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Cincinnati, although not technically the south in my definition, has the comforting southern mentality, southern accents, and everyone is so nice and friendly unlike in the Detroit area.  Maureen, a fellow first year and Michigander, commented too that not only was the climate definitely more southern, but that the weather was much more southern too.  “First, it’s significantly more warm and humid in Cincinnati than it is in Troy.  I remember coming down here for my interview in the winter and experiencing spring-like weather.  No complaints there!”  We are currently experiencing low 80’s to mid 70’s in temperature in October.  This is unheard of in Michigan, but a very welcome change, especially with impending Molecular Genetics and Human Genetics exams coming up.  We also noticed that Cincinnati is a mixture of different subcultures and neighborhoods."  I thought that the size of the city would be overwhelming, but I’ve found it to be quite manageable.  Cincinnati is divided into smaller communities, with each offering something different.  I live in Hyde Park, a safe and picturesque area with a quaint downtown,” stated Maureen.  I live in Westwood, on the other hand, which is the opposite side of Cincinnati, and a very different neighborhood as well.  There is no central down town, but there are strip malls, many grocery stores and convenient eateries, and it is a bit more urban than Hyde Park.  There are really different locations within Cincinnati to suit every lifestyle.  Bette, our program coordinator, really helped with this process, and could let us know where anything and everything was located that we may need, both inside the program and in Cincinnati in general.   Overall I would say that we have all been settling in nicely and made the quick adjustment to starting school again.  We bonded during the Team-building day with our second years, had a really nice mentor-mentee picnic, and had a really good experience with moving and meeting everyone in the program.  On the scholastic front, we had the Human Genetics Refresher Course to gear us up for the start of the program, along with orientation.  I would say that as first years, although we are getting into the thick of the quarter, we are really enjoying our time here, and can’t wait to see what the next page for us is here in Cincinnati.  Maureen summed it up by saying “Overall, I’ve loved my experience in Cincinnati so far.  I look forward to continuing my exploration of the city and discovering everything that makes it unique!” 

-Amy Gladstone, 1st year student

Happy New Year!

It's a busy start of 2011 for the GCP!

This quarter, first years are taking two different classes than last quarter and beginning to work hard on their Thesis Projects. So far, I think we're all enjoying Epidemiology and Embryology very much! Our professors are very fun to learn with, and make the long classes go fast :)

Other than that, I think first years are "Thesis-heavy" right now - we're figuring out our research questions, meeting with our advisors, and beginning to think about IRB submission. With all of us working on different topics and projects, I think it is very exciting to hear where everyone is at in the process and how they're liking their project so far. It's a longgg project so I won't be surprised if frustrations happen sooner than later!

We're ALL very busy in clinic. Right now, I'm rotating with the Hereditary Cancer Program. It's such an interesting rotation and I've seen a lot of cases that makes me excited about what's to come in research for genetics. For example, I saw a family and I thought for SURE they would have a genetic mutation that would pre-dispose them to cancer, raising their risk. Only to find out while taking the family history, they had tested negative for such a mutation. It made me want to figure out all I could for this family, and made me so excited about my field. With more research and understanding, we'll be able to provide answers for more famillies, and hopefully ensure better medical care. It may be dorky - but it surely is exciting!

This quarter is a busy one - but we've got more updates coming! Next on the list: a unique clinic experience :)

Until then!



Posted by Leslie Gress, First Year

Hustle & Bustle in the GCP!

It's a busy time of year for the students and staff here at the program!

First years have begun their clinic rotations and are about to wrap up their first quarter of classes. We just had a big Molecular Genetics test on Monday, and finished a few weeks with what seemed to be endless assignments for other classes. It's nice looking at the rest of our "to-do" list: only a few exams and we are onto Christmas break! Although, I think the lesson a lot of us are learning in our first few weeks here at UC is that the "to-do" list is surely going to be never-ending over the next two years! The "buzz" around us is all about thesis topics - we submitted our choices to Melanie on Monday and are waiting to hear back which project we will be devoting endless hours to over the rest of our time here. We were really lucky to have great choices to pick from, and I think most of us would be happy with whatever we get! Updates on that are sure to come!

Second years are deep into their research for their Thesis projects. In talking with a few of them, it seems they are really enjoying their classes, especially Advanced Genetic Counseling and Teratology. Also they are seeing more patients on average because several of them are in a specialty clinic setting. Even though I'm just a first year, I get the feeling that the second years really enjoyed their summer rotations, but are glad to be back at Children's and UC and wrapping up their time on the way to graduation in June!

The program staff is also busy! Like I said, Melanie is matching students for thesis projects which I'm sure is keeping her busy. Katie is preparing the rest of the clinic schedule for the first years, and Kathleen and Carrie are always busy as well! I think we are all VERY thankful for our program coordinator, Bette Young, who joined the program staff in September. Speaking from experience, if there is a superhero out there - it IS Bette! She is such a pleasant woman and can get anyone whatever information you need. She also keeps little treats for us - like pretzels, or cough drops when you're ill, and recently hand lotion has made an appearance since winter is approaching!

I'd say generally all is good and happy here at the GCP. I'm working on some more specific blog posts about clinic experiences, classroom experiences, and other things - just waiting for some feedback from my classmates to be able to post! :-)

Thanks for joining us on our blog-endeavor! Remember, you can e-mail us gcgradstudent@cchmc.org or comment below. Have a great day!


Posted by: Leslie Gress, First Year