ABGC Spotlight: Nick Charles Paolino, MS, CGC — Becoming an Expert Through Growth and Challenge
ABGC: Can you describe your current role?
Nick Charles Paolino, MS, CGC (NCP): I manage internal clinical quality control for a preimplantation genetic testing laboratory. While I don’t do as much direct patient counseling as I once did in other roles, I do very much enjoy having important conversations with the patients and clinics I do speak with, and using my genetic counseling skills in other capacities related to genetic testing.
ABGC: Can you share about a time you have been challenged in your career?
NCP: I think a part of why I like my current role is because I am always dealing with the unexpected within the context of a couple’s family planning. I find that I thrive in an environment where I have to be thinking on my toes. I really enjoy the challenge of facing something head-on, breaking it down, figuring out what needs to be investigated or solved, and tackling it step by step until we have a resolution that works best for all parties. I’d call it a pressure cooker, and it’s certainly not for everyone. However, in general, knowing and leaning into your strengths is always going to be a positive step in long-term professional success.
ABGC: Can you share a highlight of your career so far?
NCP: Being a founding member and co-founder of my company’s LGBTQIA+ employee resource group. It was an honor to be asked if I wanted to be a part of creating this employee resource group, and it was a very fulfilling and educational experience both personally and professionally to then lead this group through its first few years of existence. It was great to see that my company not only trusted me in this capacity, but really just how committed they are to creating a work environment that is safe for all individuals to flourish professionally.
ABGC: What advice do you have for someone beginning their genetic counseling journey?
NCP: A great deal of what you will learn about genetic counseling will not be in a classroom, but from the patients you interact with. Especially early on in your career, and during your rotations, you will constantly be receiving feedback and new insights or information from patients coming from all different walks of life. Listen, reflect and integrate. The only way you figure out how to provide the best genetic counseling services that you personally can provide is through experience, and the ups and downs of trial and error. Mistakes will happen. Just take the best care you can of the person or family in front of you, apologize and correct if necessary, and continue pushing forward. An expert is not built overnight. A person becomes an expert through growth and challenge. It’s possible to be both the expert in the room, but also still have more to learn, and a good deal of the time, with genetics, that’s where we find ourselves as providers. We can’t know everything all the time, but we can know where to look for answers and how to integrate that into a patient’s care.
ABGC: Can you share about your role on ABGC’s DEIJ Committee? What made you want to join?
NCP: As a proud and out queer man in every aspect of my life, DEIJ efforts are an important part of the fabric of my life. My husband and I are both big advocates not just for the LGBTQIA+ community, but all marginalized individuals. These efforts are very important and will continue to be important. As long as there is work to be done to make all playing fields equal for all, then I will do my best to get involved where I can. For the genetic counseling community, the importance of equality starts at the beginning of a potential genetic counselor’s journey to training and passing their boards exam, and I am looking forward to seeing where room for improvement is found, and what we can do to fix it.