Clinical genetics has always represented a prototype of the team approach to health care delivery. Providers come from a variety `of training backgrounds, including physicians with fellowship training in genetics, Ph.D.'s in human genetics, and master's-
prepared genetic counselors.
The field of genetic counseling as a recognized subspecialty is, and has been since its inception in 1969, practiced primarily (88 percent of the practitioners) by master's-prepared individuals (see the "Professional Status Survey" conducted by the National Society of Genetic Counselors in 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1992; and "Report of the 1989 Asilomar Meeting on Education in Genetic Counseling," American Journal of Human Genetics, 46:1223-30, 1990).
The American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG), currently the certifying and accrediting body for all providers of genetic care, is considering restructuring, and an amendment to the bylaws is now before all ABMG diplomates. ABMG established and worked closely with an advisory body of ABMG ...
