12-21-2004, 09:03 PM
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_..._advances/
Genetic counseling advances
News from Boston's medical and scientific community
December 21, 2004
As a growing number of patients undergo tests to learn their genetic risk for diseases, Simmons College and Brandeis University are preparing to offer New England's first program in genetic counseling for people working in health care. The course, to be offered over the Internet, will guide nurses, social workers, and others through issues such as what to advise a couple whose first child has a genetically inherited disease and who are deciding whether to risk having another.
"We can now screen for a good 20 not uncommon medical conditions" from breast cancer to fragile X syndrome, an often-lethal condition in males, but "there are a lot of health-care professionals who never got genetic training, and they need it," said Gerald P. Koocher of Simmons's School for Health Studies.
The field of genetic counseling has grown rapidly over the last decade, with 401 people nationwide gaining certification as counselors from the American Board of Genetic Counseling since 2002. Brandeis offers a master's degree in genetic counseling, but Koocher said there may be thousands of health-care professionals who can't enroll in such intensive programs. The new program will allow students to do course work without interrupting their careers.
A foundation partially controlled by a Simmons alumna, Dr. Evelyn Lipper of New York City, helped pay for the program's launch with a $495,521 grant. Koocher hopes that 40 to 50 students will be enrolled within a year and that, within three years, tuition revenue from students will cover the program's costs.
A boom in 'hospitalists'
Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge has more than tripled the number of "hospitalists" working in the 230-bed facility over the last six months, joining a national trend toward employing doctors whose sole focus is hospitalized patients rather than a traditional specialty such as cardiology or emergency medicine. Since July, the hospital has gone from three to 10 hospitalists, so at least one is on duty 24 hours a day.
Historically, doctors visit their hospitalized patients on rounds, then return to their private practices to see other patients. Hospitalists, by contrast, work only with patients admitted at the hospital, meaning they're more available to talk about patient concerns and to consult with patients' primary-care doctors. Since the mid-1990s, the number of hospitalists in North America has grown from about 800 to 8,000, according to the Society of Hospital Medicine.
Dr. Lori Balestrero said the expanded hospitalist program at Mt. Auburn is too new to measure its impact, but patients and their families already notice a difference. "They say it's great to have it be 7 p.m. and be able to talk to a doctor," she said.
Treatment boost for disease
Massachusetts General Hospital is planning one of the world's top treatment centers for a neurological disease called tuberous sclerosis after receiving a pledge of $10 million from a couple whose son suffers from the potentially disabling condition. The Carol and James Herscot Center for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, which will be directed by Dr. Elizabeth Thiele, will promote research into the condition, whose victims develop lesions on their brains. An estimated 40,000 people in the United States suffer from the condition, which can cause autism, seizures, kidney failure, and mental retardation. There is no cure.
SCOTT ALLEN
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
Genetic counseling advances
News from Boston's medical and scientific community
December 21, 2004
As a growing number of patients undergo tests to learn their genetic risk for diseases, Simmons College and Brandeis University are preparing to offer New England's first program in genetic counseling for people working in health care. The course, to be offered over the Internet, will guide nurses, social workers, and others through issues such as what to advise a couple whose first child has a genetically inherited disease and who are deciding whether to risk having another.
"We can now screen for a good 20 not uncommon medical conditions" from breast cancer to fragile X syndrome, an often-lethal condition in males, but "there are a lot of health-care professionals who never got genetic training, and they need it," said Gerald P. Koocher of Simmons's School for Health Studies.
The field of genetic counseling has grown rapidly over the last decade, with 401 people nationwide gaining certification as counselors from the American Board of Genetic Counseling since 2002. Brandeis offers a master's degree in genetic counseling, but Koocher said there may be thousands of health-care professionals who can't enroll in such intensive programs. The new program will allow students to do course work without interrupting their careers.
A foundation partially controlled by a Simmons alumna, Dr. Evelyn Lipper of New York City, helped pay for the program's launch with a $495,521 grant. Koocher hopes that 40 to 50 students will be enrolled within a year and that, within three years, tuition revenue from students will cover the program's costs.
A boom in 'hospitalists'
Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge has more than tripled the number of "hospitalists" working in the 230-bed facility over the last six months, joining a national trend toward employing doctors whose sole focus is hospitalized patients rather than a traditional specialty such as cardiology or emergency medicine. Since July, the hospital has gone from three to 10 hospitalists, so at least one is on duty 24 hours a day.
Historically, doctors visit their hospitalized patients on rounds, then return to their private practices to see other patients. Hospitalists, by contrast, work only with patients admitted at the hospital, meaning they're more available to talk about patient concerns and to consult with patients' primary-care doctors. Since the mid-1990s, the number of hospitalists in North America has grown from about 800 to 8,000, according to the Society of Hospital Medicine.
Dr. Lori Balestrero said the expanded hospitalist program at Mt. Auburn is too new to measure its impact, but patients and their families already notice a difference. "They say it's great to have it be 7 p.m. and be able to talk to a doctor," she said.
Treatment boost for disease
Massachusetts General Hospital is planning one of the world's top treatment centers for a neurological disease called tuberous sclerosis after receiving a pledge of $10 million from a couple whose son suffers from the potentially disabling condition. The Carol and James Herscot Center for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, which will be directed by Dr. Elizabeth Thiele, will promote research into the condition, whose victims develop lesions on their brains. An estimated 40,000 people in the United States suffer from the condition, which can cause autism, seizures, kidney failure, and mental retardation. There is no cure.
SCOTT ALLEN
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.