This learning series is accredited for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™  from April 15, 2025 until April 15, 2027.

Watch the recording and complete your evaluation here.

 

In this webinar, you will hear from genetic counselors and one psycho-oncology consultant who provide an overview of genetic counseling and special considerations when it comes to test selection, cost, and insurance. You will also receive tools to aid you in shared decision making in cancer genetic testing and apply these skills with case examples. This webinar aims to facilitate non-genetic providers in starting conversations regarding genetic counseling and testing.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of this educational activity, participants should be able to:

• Distinguish between the components of a cancer genetic counseling session.
• Differentiate between single site, targeted and comprehensive cancer genetic testing panels.
• Define insurance challenges in cancer genetic testing.
• Recognize the importance of shared decision making in cancer genetic testing.

Target Audience

This activity is designed to educate medical practitioners on aspects of cancer genomics with respect to their practice.

Speakers

	Julie Simmons, MS, LCGC Julie Simon earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of San Diego in 2007, and a Masters in Genetic Counseling from the University of California, Irvine in 2010. After graduation, she created the Lysosomal Storage Disorders Program at UCI and worked with graduate students before moving to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She worked first at MultiCare for 6 years expanding their genetics services in oncology, metabolic, and general genetics. Since joining Genetic Support Foundation, she continues to meet with people to discuss cancer genetics, general genetics, and personalized medicine. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and playing with her two corgis.
	Alena Faulkner, MS, CGC Alena Faulkner (she/her) grew up in the East Bay Area, California and attended Sonoma State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Psychology. Later, she attended the University of South Carolina School of Medicine where she earned a Master’s of Science in Genetic Counseling. Shortly after, Alena moved to the Pacific Northwest to begin her genetic counseling career. Prior to joining Genetic Support Foundation, she served the Oregon and Southwest Washington communities for 3.5 years providing hereditary cancer risk assessment for patients and families with personal and/or family history of cancer and/or hereditary cancer predisposition. Other professional interests include mental illness/health, psychiatric genetics, pharmacogenomics, direct-to-consumer testing, patient education/advocacy, and public health genetics. In her spare time, Alena enjoys finding balance between mindful movement, cooking, spending time with family, finding new shows or podcasts to binge, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
	Cobie Whitten, Ph.D. Cobie earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She currently is a Psycho-Oncology Consultant for the Providence Regional Cancer System. Her efforts include the creation of the community health education course Cancer 101: Basics and Beyond for the Providence Regional Cancer System which has provided patients and their families across the region the information, resources and support they need when facing a cancer diagnosis for more than a decade. She also provides training on a wide range of psycho-emotional topics to help providers better care for and support cancer patients, including spiritual support in cancer care, compassionate interactions with cancer patients, palliative care, and wellness, coordinated and interdisciplinary cancer survivorship care, and compassion fatigue. Cobie serves as a faculty member at Harmony Hill Retreat Center, a nonprofit retreat facility focused on wellness and offering comfort and support to thousands affected by cancer, including caregivers and health professionals, each year. Previously, Cobie worked for the Washington State Department of Health in the Washington Breast & Cervical Health Program, co-chaired the Survivorship, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues Taskforce of Washington CARES About Cancer, and taught at Saint Martin’s University.
	Heidi Holmes, MS, CGC Heidi Holmes graduated from the Genetic Counseling Training Program at Case Western Reserve University in 2004 and started her career as a cancer genetic counselor at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. In 2009 she joined the Genetic Medicine Clinic at University of Washington, providing genetic counseling for hereditary cancer as well as other adult genetics indications.  She took a hiatus from her career from 2013-2019 to accompany her husband on overseas military orders and experience living in Japan and then Italy. On returning to the US in 2019, Heidi established her current position at Confluence Health in Wenatchee, WA where she sees patients for hereditary cancer and also adult and pediatric general genetics.
	Karry Trout Karry has been working in Mammography for over 25 years and received her Certification in Breast Cancer Navigation in 2011. She has been a Registered Radiologic Technologist since 1983 and completed her BA from DePaul University in 1997. After completing her BA she moved to the Pacific Northwest. Karry’s passion is around early breast cancer detection, education and outreach. She provides the patient with educational, emotional and social support. Her goal is to help remove healthcare barriers and meet the needs and expectations of each patient she serves.
	Katie Stoll, MS, CGC - Moderator Katie is a licensed genetic counselor and executive director of Genetic Support Foundation. She earned her master’s degree in genetic counseling degree from Brandeis University with her clinical internship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings, seeing patients for multiple specialties for more than 20 years. In addition to providing direct patient care, Katie leads work at Genetic Support Foundation to develop resources and build programs to expand the availability of up-to-date information about genetics, and to increase access to genetic counseling services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit Designation Statement

The Federation of State Medical Boards designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Course Director
Pamela Kohlmeier MD, JD, FACEP
Washington Medical Commission

Commercial Support
This learning activity is not funded by any commercial entity.

Disclosure Declaration
As an organization accredited by the ACCME, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) requires that the content of CME activities and related materials provide balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor. All faculty, planners, and others in a position to control continuing medical education content participating in an accredited continuing education activity are required to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies. Ineligible companies are organizations whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Faculty (authors, presenters, speakers and planners) are encouraged to provide a balanced view of therapeutic options by utilizing either generic names or other options available when utilizing trade names to ensure impartiality.

Faculty members are asked to disclose all financial relationships they have had in the past 24 months with ineligible companies regardless of the potential relevance of each relationship to the education and of the amount. The FSMB has implemented a mechanism to identify and resolve all conflicts of interest prior to the activity. The intent of this policy is to identify potential conflicts of interest so participants can form their own judgments with full disclosure of the facts. Participants will be asked to evaluate whether the speaker’s outside interests reflect a possible bias in the planning or presentation of the activity. 

None of the speakers or planners for this activity have relevant financial relationships to disclose with ineligible companies.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Uses
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For additional information about approved uses, including approved indications, contraindications, and warnings, please refer to the prescribing information for each product, or consult the Physicians’ Desk Reference.

Faculty and Staff Disclosures
No speaker or persons in control of content reported intent to reference unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or products.