Adapting skills from genetic counseling to wearables technology research during the COVID-19 pandemic: Poised for the pivot.

ABSTRACT

Genetic counselors have shown themselves to be adaptable in an evolving profession, with expansion into new sub-specialties, various non-clinical settings, and research roles. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden and drastic shift in healthcare priorities. In an effort to contribute meaningfully to the COVID-19 crisis, and to adapt to a remote- and essential-only research environment, our workplace and thus our roles pivoted from genomics research to remote COVID-19 research using wearables technologies. With a deep understanding of genomic data, we were quickly able to apply similar concepts to wearables data including considering privacy implications, managing uncertain findings, and acknowledging the lack of ethnic diversity in many datasets. By sharing our own experience as an example, we hope individuals trained in genetic counseling may see opportunities for adaptation of their skills into expanding roles.