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C 2002) Journal of Genetic Counseling, Vol. 11, No. 4, August 2002 (°

Pushing Through the Door Janice G. Edwards1,2

Thanksgiving weekend started off rather roughly. Wednesday afternoon, my chairman came by my office to let me know that in the midst of a reorganization, the School of Medicine no longer considered me a faculty member. They would soon put me in a staff position, stripping me of my clinical associate professor title. I had held a faculty title for several years, first as an instructor, then moving up the ranks to assistant and associate professor. The problem, they said, lay in an administrative quirk: I had been a community hospital employee holding an essentially honorary faculty title. After 15 years in this situation, the genetic counselors were among a group of hospital employees being transferred into the university system. Some 200 hospital employees were transferred, and human resources had to identify the appropriate university slot for each. Not surprisingly, the genetic counselors were the last to be reclassified, as they did not quite know how to pigeon hole us. We were asked whether we preferred to be classified as staff employees or as faculty. Staff positions were considered more secure since the faculty served on 1-year contracts and could be dismissed at anytime. I knew in my heart that mine was more an academic position, while my coworkers requested staff classification. Needless to say, my chairman’s news left me with a broken spirit. Yet I knew that if I accepted a staff position, I would not be true to myself and would limit my future professional growth. Thanksgiving weekend was filled with cooking, eating, and relatives, which kept me occupied and allowed me to process and plan for Monday morning. I remember telling my mother-in-law, “I will find a way to turn around my dejected feelings and put a positive focus in my response.” That response formed itself into a letter to my chair restating my request to be classified as full faculty and citing the many ways in which my work reflected 1 Department

of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.

2 Correspondence should be directed to Janice G. Edwards, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,

University of South Carolina, Two Medical Park, Suite 103, Columbia, South Carolina 29203; e-mail: [email protected]. 325 C 2002 National Society of Genetic Counselors, Inc. 1059-7700/02/0800-0325/1 °

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Edwards

that of an academic. These included the traditional realms of teaching, clinical practice, and service to my profession and to the University. As graduate director of a genetic counseling program, my teaching experience was well known in the School; my program had twice received the highest acclaims from the state Commission on Higher Education. I also pointed out my leadership experience in the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC), particularly noting my service in standard setting for the profession within the accreditation and certification duties of the ABGC. I also reminded my chair that the School had asked me to serve on several important committees in the past, including the search committee that named him to his post. My letter was succinct and called upon the chair to explain why the School would not classify me as faculty. I carefully suggested that I would be willing to talk directly with the Dean about my concerns. Somehow, within 24 h of receipt of the letter, my chair called me to his office to sign my contract . . . I would be considered a full faculty member, retaining my clinical associate professor title. Several doors have opened for me since. With full faculty status, I became eligible for the School’s teaching award and won the honor (and monetary award) the following two consecutive years. My dean chose me to attend the American Association of Medical Colleges annual Professional Development Seminar for Senior Women in Medicine. This conference is for MD and PhD associate professors who are considered leaders with potential for advancement within medical education; needless to say I was the only genetic counselor in attendance. I’ve since worked with other senior faculty to offer a mentoring conference for women faculty in the health professions at my university, which will hopefully lead to opportunities for new collaborations. Within my department, my relationships with genetics colleagues have always been stable and respectful, and they remain unchanged with this reclassification. Yet with other departmental faculty, my faculty status has given me a place at the table. I have been able to negotiate a salary increase based on my accomplishments, commensurate with faculty levels. My voice is now equal to my fellow faculty members, and is even becoming more senior. Had I not advocated for myself, I would likely still be rolling along, directing graduate genetic counseling study without real recognition from my institution. Pushing through the door created opportunity for me, and hopefully opened the path for the genetic counselor that comes after me. Promotion and tenure guidelines were recently revised at my School. My chair argued to change the MD/PhD prerequisite for rank advancement to “terminal degree in the Profession,” on behalf of the sole genetic counselor among the School of Medicine faculty. I’ll take that opportunity as my next challenge, in my bid for full professor status.

P1: GCR Journal of Genetic Counseling [jgc]

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Of special note, I never miss a deadline, but I was late submitting this manuscript . . . largely due to my reluctance to talk about my accomplishments, a personal trait that also affects many professional women I know. I was able to get my thoughts on paper, thanks to my husband’s urging. He said, “If your profession is going to raise the bar for genetic counselors, you have to talk about it and show others the way to do it.”

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