Alyssa Joynt

Background

About Alyssa Joynt

As a prenatal genetic counsellor at Mount Sinai Hospital, I routinely support patients and families involved in high-risk pregnancies. I am consistently able to build a strong rapport with my patients as I help them navigate complex medical decision-making. I also provide advanced psychosocial counselling and offer extended follow-up to ensure families have adequate support. The Prenatal Diagnosis and Medical Genetics Program is a rotation site for the University of Toronto's genetic counselling training program and regularly offers placements for genetic counselling students and medical residents. I have begun to take on a supervisory role with these various trainees as they rotate through the clinic.I am a graduate of the University of Manitoba, which is the only Canadian genetic counselling program that incorporates a full Master’s thesis into its genetic counselling curriculum. This allowed me to develop strong critical thinking and project management skills and piqued my curiousity for research. I am committed to advancing the role of genetic counsellors in clinical study and am actively exploring research opportunities within Mount Sinai. Completing my training in Manitoba also exposed me to a diverse patient population, and I learned to provide counselling in a manner that is culturally sensitive and acknowledges diversity. I have continued to draw on those skills as a practicing clinical counsellor in Toronto.I am passionate about prenatal genetic counselling, and as I move forward in my career I am eager to continue providing patient care in this area. I look forward to engaging in research to improve prenatal screening and diagnostic options for patients. I am also interested in the training of genetic counselling students and am looking forward to gaining more experience and formal training as a clinical supervisor.