Have you ever considered expanding your practice or hiring a genetic counseling assistant or a genetic counselor? How about advocating for an increased CEU budget or other resources to optimize your skillset?
Perhaps you are unsure how to start the conversation with your institution. Or maybe you are seeking alternative ways to ensure a more successful outcome. If so, you are not alone.
Business cases are used to convince your target audience that the idea you are proposing is a good investment to solve a problem. They are often used to hire, utilize, and retain genetic counselors, and they can address challenges resulting from the rising demand for equitable access to genetic services.
Last year, the Business Case Workgroup of the Access and Service Delivery (ASD) Committee hosted the first NSGC Business Case Summit. This one-day virtual event consisted of presentations and panel discussions by genetic counselors in the US and Canada. You can read more about the Business Case Summit here.
The valuable input from genetic counselors at the summit led the Business Case Workgroup to develop a business case template and toolkit to address the gaps in knowledge and resources that genetic counselors need to develop an effective business case.
Key concepts from the summit will be highlighted at the upcoming NSGC Annual Conference pre-conference symposium “When Opportunity Knocks, Build A Door: An Interactive Session to Build Successful Business Cases to Solve Everyday Challenges.” In this interactive session, you will learn how to identify stakeholders and potential barriers and design solutions to achieve your goal. You will also learn the seven aspects of building a business case, hear about real-life examples, and develop skills for successful negotiation.
As a genetic counselor, you already possess many skills and attributes to create and execute a successful business case. Let the pre-conference symposium and the business case toolkit help you advocate for what you need to solve your everyday challenges. See you in Nashville!
Daria Ma, MS, CGC, MHDS For more than a decade, Daria Ma has been helping healthcare providers and consumers by translating complex medical genetic information into practical tools for clinical management. Daria is currently the cardiovascular genetic counselor at Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, where she provides genetic services to suspected heritable heart disease patients of all ages. She is also extensively involved in the clinical operation, education, and development of the Cardiogenetics Program and currently serves as the co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee and a member of the Business Case Workgroup of the Access and Service Delivery Committee within NSGC. With her Master’s degree in Genetic Counselor from Sarah Lawrence College and Master’s Degree in Health Delivery Science from Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Daria is passionate about delivering cost-effective genomic care programs to healthcare systems and the public.
Daria grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA. When not traveling to places near and far, you can find her laughing at improv comedy at the Groundlings, enjoying a play at a small theater in Hollywood, or chilling at home with a good biography or mystery novel in hand.