We sat down with Stephanie Hedges for a MoGen Faculty spotlight to learn more about the Genetic Counselling program at the University of Toronto. Stephanie is a certified genetic counsellor, currently working in the Prenatal Diagnosis and Medical Genetics department at Sinai Health System.
To get there, Stephanie graduated from the University of Toronto's Genetic Counselling program. She is now involved in the training of genetic counsellors as a clinical supervisor and is a co-coordinator of their course in Advanced Principles of Effective Counselling. In chatting with Stephanie, we learned about her path from training at UofT to training the program’s students.
From this interview, we learned about how students might harness the power of mentorship and how you might stay involved with a program throughout your career. See below for more of our conversation with Stephanie.
A Path to Genetic Counselling
The path to discovering genetic counselling looks entirely different from individual to individual. Many are unaware of the profession until later stages, and a competitive application/match process means people come to genetic counselling from a wide variety of backgrounds. Stephanie highlights this:
Having been a University of Toronto student, how did you find out about the field and the program?
“I was in my fourth year of undergrad at McGill, and I took an applied human genetics course, and they actually had a unit on genetic counselling. I'd heard about genetic counselling, and then doing this unit was like, “Oh my gosh!” - this totally aligns with what I want to do. I knew I wanted to be in healthcare, but I didn't want to be a doctor. I really liked the nerdy genetic side of it. Also really liked the patient side of it, and the fact that you got to talk to people as your job sounded excellent!”
Why did you choose the University of Toronto?
“When I trained in Genetic Counselling, there were only four Canadian programs, one of which was completely French-speaking. So, I applied to all three, and I chose UofT. The things I liked about it: Number one, I'm from Toronto. I also really liked the program itself. Cheryl Schuman was the program director at the time. I loved her, and I really wanted to work with her.
I thought the experience of being in University Avenue, the specialists that exist up and down University Avenue, and the knowledge and experience of those specialists is quite unmatched across other programs. I thought it was so cool that we'd be learning from people who are really at the top of their field and getting to be immersed in these very specialty, high-risk scenarios.”
What made you want to become part of the faculty or be involved in education at UofT?
The training in genetic counselling is a large portion of clinical training. I really valued the experiences I had in my clinical rotations. I had a lot of supervisors who were very keen and very energized by training, and I appreciated how much effort they gave me during the program.
When I graduated and went into the workforce, I felt how rewarding it was to participate in student training. I knew my goal was ultimately to get back to Toronto and get into one of a handful of clinics, and when I did - working in one of the University Avenue hospitals, I quickly learned that I liked it and essentially have been leaning into it as time goes on. I find it very rewarding, and I love the idea of passing the buck and improving upon the training that I had.
Stephanie’s clinical experience as a student led to a desire to contribute to the clinical training of future genetic counsellors. The people we encounter, even briefly throughout our degrees, can make an impact on the trajectory of our careers, and where we see ourselves.
How does mentorship play a role in your education and career?
I think genetic counsellors tend to be a bit of a community, and I haven't had formal mentorship, I would say. But certainly there have been quite a few significant mentors informally for me, in training and then in my career as well. I think it’s part of the collaborative and very family-esque nature of genetic counsellors - we really are a village, and we do take care of one another, and you really do become a family with your clinical co-workers - it fosters this kind of togetherness.”
As students, finding mentors can perhaps feel like a pressure, to find a person who can guide you and be willing to work with you for a long period of time. I reflected to Stephanie that even clinical supervisors, or short term research trainees, can act as mentors for us.
We're always learning, right? This isn't a field that you become an expert in, and you're stagnant in your training. You graduate, yes, and you're technically a proficient genetic counsellor once you enter the workforce, but you're continuing to learn, and you'll hear something your coworker will tell you - something about a case that they saw, and it'll stick with you. It's all constantly evolving.”
How can MoGen students seek out mentorship?
How do you think, in hindsight, would you recommend GC students, MoGen students, and grad students as a whole seek out mentorship and guidance?
“I think mentors can come in many different packages. I think you can have mentors for different aspects of your goals. I do think self-reflection is an important part of that, wanting to understand what exactly it is that you're trying to attain, and then trying to align yourself with the people who will help you get there. Personally, a lot of my mentors have been people that I just really connect with and admire, and […] can be an exceptionally useful tool for people in their own career development.”
I think with Molecular Genetics at UofT, we have three really different but all really challenging programs. Do you have any advice for navigating challenging programs as a graduate student?
“Take a deep breath and realize that whatever the hard thing that is happening right now, it will eventually pass. You will get through it. This will not last forever, and enjoy every moment that you can.”
We thank Stephanie for her contributions to the Molecular Genetics program and for her time with us, and we wish her all the best as she continues to shape future genetic counselling students in the clinic and the classroom.
