Genetic Counsellor Registration Advisory Board
Welcome to the website of the Genetic Counsellor Registration Advisory Board (GCRAB). The vision of the GCRAB is “ensuring expertise to serve families with genetic conditions”. The GCRAB has been setting and monitoring standards for genetic counsellor practice since 2002. The GCRAB assesses standards through a competency based portfolio at masters level. Genetic counsellors traditionally work in Regional genetic service but increasingly are expanding into mainstream services and private practice.
The purpose of the GCRAB is to establish, maintain and improve standards of practice in genetic counselling to assure public safety in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
It seeks to achieve this through accepting responsibility in three primary areas:
- Setting and monitoring standards for entry to the profession.
- Establishing and maintaining open and transparent systems of professional
accreditation. - Maintaining and improving standards of professional practice, to protect and
promote the professional reputation for the benefit of the profession and public
alike.
In 2019 the GCRAB register was transferred to the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS). A GCRAB Board Member sits on the AHCS Healthcare Science Registration Council and Genetic Counsellors who have met the GCRAB assessment criteria are now included in the AHCS public register of Practitioners accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. Accreditation means that the AHCS has met the Authority’s demanding standards in respect of governance, setting standards, education and training, managing the register, providing information and complaints handling. For more details about PSA accredited registers click here.
For further details about the AHCS click here
Some Genetic Counsellors choose to take a different route for registration and instead are registered through the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC). This includes Clinical Scientist Training Programme (STP) trained Genetic Counsellors and those who apply for STP Equivalence. For further details about the HCPC click here
For further information on a Registered Genetic Counsellor (RGC), check the REGISTER . To view the GCRAB Code of Conduct click here The GCRAB calendar of events can be viewed below.