We are already through the first quarter of 2025, and what a time of uncertainty and volatility it has been. Some might say exhausting. In transparency, I have a hard time wrestling with my feelings about the many issues we are all grappling with, how they are impacting so many of you in your different arenas, and the potential long-term impact that even our children can feel. All of it keeps me up at night. I’ll leave it at that.
Robert Frost so aptly said, “The only way out is through." We must put one foot in front of the other, even on days that we might not feel like we can. I also have those days when it feels like there is not enough left in my energy reserve to persist. And yet, somehow, I do. We all do.
I want to highlight the resources that many NSGC volunteers have worked so hard on in recent years that could help as you make your way through this period of uncertainty. In my recent review of our education offerings, I was truly floored by how much we have. I did not entirely appreciate the volume of our resources until I took a comprehensive look! I mentioned in my message to the membership recently that sometimes disruption can bring innovation and creativity. I think these resources could inspire new ways forward if you need help navigating.
The NSGC website has a fantastic array of health care business resources to peruse that are focused on development of your practice, business information and workforce development and recruitment tools. If you are in a clinical practice that needs to consider more efficiency to better utilize your existing resources, if you want to consider creating your own business/practice, if you want to grow your workforce — go see this page. There are so many amazing resources here.
For those that might be making job transitions, there are a variety of clinical practice resources, as well as online education with many professional development topics including technology and business of health care. In line with ongoing education, the NSGC webinar series focuses on education and a variety of professional topics. The amount of information available in our practice guidelines and practice resources are excellent opportunities to get up to speed in any area of practice you might be entering.
The philosophical evolution this year under the new federal administration has prompted questions about NSGC’s position on multiple topics. As a reminder, NSGC position statements on many issues such as access to reproductive health care, human gene patenting and confronting racism and inequity in genomic testing are publicly available. Additionally, our DEIB policy and J.E.D.I. Action Plan and progress updates are in the policy section of our website and remain a cornerstone of our organizational ethos.
In spite of the uncertainty that surrounds us, what is certain is that the work of NSGC continues. Committees, along with our staff partners, have done a lot of work already in this first quarter of the year to start implementing our new Strategic Plan. I am so very proud of what we have already accomplished together. Lila Aiyar, an NSGC Director at Large, is going to recap a high-level overview of accomplishments already made in the video message below.
Uncertainty is hard. There is no other way to put it. We don’t know what tomorrow or the foreseeable future will bring. What we do know is that your Board of Directors has made supporting all of you our top priority. What we can do, and what we can control, is continuing to work together and leveraging all of our voices to push NSGC forward — come what may.
Sara Pirzadeh-Miller, MS, CGC is the director of the cancer genetics program and a certified genetic counselor at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX. She leads 22 genetic counselors that provide hereditary cancer risk assessment in five hospital systems in North Texas. She is the 2025 president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and has held numerous leadership positions on national, regional and local levels. Her research interests include genetic counseling workforce efficiency, service delivery models and population screening