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How can IPT reach all the people of the world as quickly as possible?
An important part of this process will be training of doctors.
Here are some ideas about how this can be done.
Today there are almost 30 doctors practicing
IPT. Only two of them, Dr. Perez Garcia 3
and SGA, have more than 2 years of IPT experience, and
are certified to
train other doctors. If this practice is
to rapidly become universally available, that number will need to grow by a
factor of at least thousands. How best to fill
this gap? How can these few experienced doctors help train so many
more?
IPT is both simple and complex, both easy and difficult. The
pioneering IPT doctors have found that it is very easy to learn the basics of
IPT, and that it takes a long time to get really good at it.
IPT, like the medicine that it is part of, is an art. Research can help
support and guide it. But in the end it is always the experience of the
doctor that meets and addresses the problems of the patient. In the
end it is the individual doctor who takes action. And the doctor can only
really learn this art from experience, either his own or that of other doctors.
Dr. Perez Garcia 3, grandson of Dr.
Perez Garcia 1, the discoverer of IPT, described openly
and honestly in an email what it was like for him to learn IPT. "It took me
from 1983 until 1989 to learn and get acquainted with IPT [working with his father,
Dr. Perez Garcia y Bellon 2]. During those years I was learning, and I was not confident practicing
IPT by myself. After 1989, when I moved to Tijuana, I was scared, but I decided to go
ahead
and do it by myself. From 1989 until 1994 I learned and developed IPT
according to my current situation. In the process I learned several
ways
of not doing IPT. At the present time I am beginning to enjoy IPT and its
results." So it took him years of experience to get to this
point. How can this process of gaining experience and confidence be
accelerated?
The information on this website -- articles, theory, patents, protocols, and
case histories -- is probably enough for any doctor, based on his education and
experience, to figure out how to practice IPT at a beginning level. If all
the experienced IPT doctors were to suddenly disappear into a time warp, there
is enough information here, there are enough hints here, for a few curious
doctors to try the practice and reconstruct it, over a period of decades,
through their own failures and successes. It would not be exactly
the same IPT, and some of the discoveries of the IPT pioneers might never be
recovered. But it would continue to help patients.
How fortunate we are, though, that
one very experienced IPT doctor is alive with
us today. Dr. Perez Garcia 3, with 17 years of IPT experience, is
enthusiastic about devoting more of his time to training other doctors, and
sharing his knowledge and experience with them. He incorporates the best
teachings from his recently deceased father, Dr. Perez Garcia y Bellon 2
(44
years of IPT experience), and his grandfather, Dr. Perez Garcia 1, the
discoverer of IPT (43 years of experience). Dr. Perez Garcia 3 has taken the lead role with his IPT
training program.
If IPT is for real, we need a good IPT training program so millions of
patients can be helped. What would a mature IPT training program look
like? How can we set up an education program to help doctors
learn IPT faster and with more confidence? I present the following ideas as a catalyst for
discussion.
Possible Elements of an IPT Education and Training Program
- A medical textbook on IPT, briefly outlining the theory, practice, and
scientific basis for IPT. A list of medications found useful for IPT, and
those found not to work so well, along with notes on how to modify doses of each
drug for use in IPT.
Also a "recipe" guide section that lists typical combinations and doses
of medications that have been found to work for certain diseases.
- An IPT curriculum for doctors. This could fit into various
existing Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs. It could incorporate
the IPT textbook, printed teaching materials, and video or multimedia
demonstration and instruction programs. Experienced instructors, and
hands-on demonstrations and experience would help make this a very high-quality
educational experience.
- An IPT curriculum for medical schools. Probably a shorter unit
as part of an existing class sequence. Additional materials would be
available for interested students.
- IPT internship programs. Here medical school graduates could work
side-by-side with experienced IPT doctors in a clinical setting. Probably
the best way to learn IPT.
- A web-based curriculum. This could be simple or elaborate.
Or there can be sequential levels. Text files for theory and
reference. Multimedia lectures and demonstrations. Links to other
IPT resources. Discussion forums and email lists for students. Final
examination and certificate of completion. The
advantage of a web-based curriculum is that doctors around the world can learn
from it.
- A field curriculum. Certain basic IPT procedures could be
quickly taught to doctors and other health workers who are either already
working in less developed regions, or are about to. If there is a single
disease to be treated, or a few diseases, the details of basic treatment can be
taught in a few days. Perhaps even in a few hours, if there is an
emergency. While this will not provide a lot of experience in
advance, these health workers will gain plenty of IPT experience very rapidly,
as they address the tremendous health needs of the people they serve. And
even basic level IPT is probably much, much better than no IPT. A concise
guidebook and reference materials can be provided. Also web or phone
access to the worldwide IPT database, and experienced consultants, will keep a
world of IPT experience within easy reach, even in remote areas.
- Emergency field guide. A concise guidebook for basic IPT
procedures. It could be packed in a kit with basic IPT supplies and
medications for use on expeditions, in remote laboratories (such as at the South
Pole), and for long missions in space. Support can also be
provided from outside consultants, if communications links are
present.
- An archive of interviews, information, and documents obtained from Dr. Donato Perez Garcia y Bellon
2. He is aging, and this needs
to be done as soon as possible, so that his knowledge and 44 years of
experience, and the knowledge and 43 years of experience of his father, are not
lost forever. [Unfortunately it is too late to interview him. But his
papers could have much priceless information.]
- A society of doctors who practice IPT. Through presentation of
papers, and through personal meeting and interaction, IPT experience can be
shared and built upon. This could start as an interest group within the
existing medical societies. Websites, online forums, chat rooms, and email
discussion groups could help link all these doctors using the
Internet. We have already found that an email address is almost a
requirement for today's IPT doctors to stay in touch with each other.
- A journal about IPT would concentrate relevant information in one
place, and would encourage IPT research.
- A video archive of edited IPT cases. This could be a
valuable asset for any IPT curriculum. Through editing, the progress of an
IPT treatment can be shortened to a few minutes. Each case could show the
patient before, during, and after treatment, along with commentary by the
experienced doctor. This way the viewer can watch the highlights of
perhaps five to ten IPT treatments per hour, 40 to 80 per day. A very fast
way to accumulate IPT experience with the diversity of patients and diseases.
- An IPT doctor certification system. Without this, someone could
just read a book or website and say that he is an IPT doctor. Instead,
experienced IPT doctors can decide what level of experience and training is
required for certification. A recognized trademark name and logo would be
developed. This mark and certificate would help reassure patients
and doctors. This system could also be extended to certify IPT
instructors.
- Individual doctor logbook. Just as airplane pilots keep track of
their hours, and laser eye surgeons keep track of the number of procedures they
have performed, perhaps IPT doctors need to keep track of their years of
experience, the number of IPT treatments they have performed, and the number of
patients they have treated. This will provide an easy statistic to help
patients choose doctors based on experience.
- An online database of IPT doctors, drugs, mixture recipes, and case
reports. Searchable and interactive. This can be built on and
updated without printing costs, and made available for free, or for a nominal
fee, to all IPT doctors worldwide. A committee could review submissions
from doctors, to maintain focus and quality. Subsets and summaries of this
database could be printed and updated every year, for convenient use in the
field.
This has already begun. Here on IPTQ.com are listings of IPT doctors,
and protocols for specific non-cancer diseases are becoming available on
the
IPTdoctors e-group.
The IPT doctors and I are primed to help get this process going immediately. There
are many possible sources for the support needed to do it right. Which major
philanthropists want to provide the initial boost?
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