The words ‘genetic counselling’ and ‘bootcamp’ are not usually found in the same sentence, but the Genetic Counselling team brought them together when we hosted our inaugural Genetic Counselling Skills Bootcamp.
Our online bootcamp was designed to build excitement and engagement ahead of the new Graduate Certificate in Genetic Counselling Skills, by teaching a new skill in a fast-paced, interactive environment. We chose collection and documentation of a 3-generation health-related family history, a practical skill that most healthcare practitioners use.
The 2-hour live and online workshop included:
- plenary speakers
- guidance in drawing a family tree
- practicing drawing a family tree while watching a live role play
- meeting genetic counsellors ‘speed-dating style’ using breakout rooms
The workshop was supported by a UTS Open Canvas 2 course where we provided open access resources and places to ask questions. We marketed the event through our international professional networks with support from the Enterprise Learning Unit. More than 400 people from 30 countries registered for the bootcamp, showing us just how strong the need for practical, skills-based genetic counselling training is.
We invited participants to complete a brief evaluation after the bootcamp. Evaluation comments, along with a very busy chat-thread during the workshop, clearly identify gaps in skills and knowledge that the graduate certificate in genetic counselling skills will fill.
6 things we learnt from bootcamp
- Teamwork is crucial! We worked with colleagues from the Enterprise Learning Unit, UTS Open, genetic counsellors and our own team to plan and run the bootcamp.
- Zoom chat moves very fast when learners are actively encouraged to interact – we had several people responding to questions and comments.
- Including multiple short activities and speakers gave the event a real sense of energy.
- There is significant unmet need for training and support. We received many practical questions about genetic counselling, including queries about specific genomic tests and results during the bootcamp. We responded with general information and links to resources and will use these questions to inform our content development.
- Our ‘meet a genetic counsellor’ activity was popular but it needs refinement. Participants wanted more time with the genetic counsellors, and we need to provide additional briefing notes for the genetic counsellors during future events.
- Two hours speeds past very quickly when managing a Zoom meeting of this size and complexity!
Our Genetic Counselling Skills Bootcamp generated energy and purpose as we move towards the launch of our new program. We’ll be building on this engagement with a micro-credential in March 2024, giving learners the opportunity to experience more UTS Genetic Counselling through interactive online learning.