Clinical Genetics Trainees

Induction Guide for Clinical Genetics Registrars

SpR Group

There is an online discussion forum which all Registrars should be members of. This allows Registrars to send group emails to all other Registrars in the country and aids communication between different centres. It is a Yahoo group and if you ask a current Registrar to email them at with your email address, they will be able to put you on the list.

BSHG

Join the British Society of Human Genetics (BSHG)( The BSHG conference in run annually in the Autumn. You can also join the subgroups of the Clinical Genetics Society ( and Cancer Genetics Group ( These groups also run annual conferences.

JRCPTB

Enrol online with JRCPTB: ( and get your training e portfolio by emailing and giving them the name and contact email address of your supervisor. If you have any further problems then please contact support by emailing

The JRCPTB clinical genetics homepage provides information relating to specialist training in Clinical Genetics, including entry into Clinical Genetics, the updated clinical genetics training curriculum, competency based assessments and Current members of theClinicalGeneticsSpecialist Advisory Committee -JRCPTB website

Essential /Recommended Courses for Registrars

The “Fundamentals in Genetics” based at the Sanger Centre in Cambridge is a must for first year Registrars. It should take place every two years. It last ran in January 2012.
Attendance on a counselling course is essential for your CCT. Manchester run a course every two years, and Guy’s now run a yearly course in London.
“Teaching Genetics” course run by the National Genetics Education Centre in Birmingham, there is one specifically for SpRs but they also run others.
The Cancer Genetics course is run two yearly in Southampton and Manchester and is a three day course teaching you everything there is to know about cancer genetics.
Dysmorphology Club normally runs three times a year. The dates and venue (normally Institute of Child Health) are normally on the Clinical Genetics website. To join the Dysmorphology Club mailing list visit
There are many other useful and interesting courses/conferences throughout the year. A number are organised by The Royal Society of Medicine and others are advertised on the yahoo group email.
Study leave budget- is yours to claim and spend- check details/amounts with base genetics centre. It is usually in region of £800 per annum.

Suggested books:

Smith's Recognizable Patterns of Human Malformation. Author -Kenneth Lyons Jones

Oxford Desk Reference - Clinical Genetics. Authors - Helen V. Firth, Jane A. Hurst, Judith G. Hall

Practical Genetic Counselling. Author - Peter Harper

The Bedside Dysmorphologist: Classic Clinical Signs in Human Malformation Syndromes and their Diagnostic Significance. Author - Willie Reardon

Risk Assessment and Management in Cancer Genetics. Author - Fiona Lalloo, Bronwyn Kerr, J. M Friedman and D Gareth R. Evans

Medical Genetics. Author - Ian D Young

Chromosome Abnormalities and Genetic Counseling (Oxford Monographs on Medical Genetics). Author - R. J. McKinlay Gardner and Grant R. Sutherland

Helpful URLs:

GeneReviews™ - NCBI Bookshelf