Presidential Address 2003: NSGC Living Life Forward

Abstract

Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, once wrote: “It is quite true what Philosophy says: that Life must be understood backwards. But that makes one forget the other saying: that it must be lived forwards.” (Andrews et al., 1996) Each time I begin a new challenge, I reread Kierkegaard’s quote. It helps me reflect on the path I took to get where I am in the present and then begin thinking about where I am going in the future. Today I am here in North Carolina as the President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) because you, my colleagues, believe and trust that I will represent your interests and the interests of our organization. It is a privilege and honor to have been elected to this position. I look forward to representing NSGC over the next year. But let us apply Kierkegaard’s quote to the NSGC. Robin Bennett, Past President I, and Bea Leopold, our Executive Director, have just highlighted what NSGC has accomplished over the past year. I will discuss how NSGC can live life forward. Clearly, since the inception of NSGC the practice of genetic counseling has changed. Our special-interest groups (SIGs) alone illustrate the diverse roles we have created for ourselves. Even how we provide services is evolving, with counselors using telegenetics and web-based modalities. We are all well aware that the promise of new information and technology arising from the completion of the human genome sequencing portends more change for us in the future. To paraphrase Dr. Francis Collins’ address to us at our 2001 annual education conference, “Now is the time for genetic counselors, and the NSGC, to embrace these changes and step into our rightful leadership role and lead others into this new and exciting future” (Collins, 2001). There was a time when NSGC’s primary focus was to establish itself as a professional organization. This is no longer the case. NSGC is recognized by many