Ketamine Institute Training Program for Physicians
The Ketamine Institute is proud to announce that we have just graduated new physicians qualified to safely and effectively perform ketamine infusion therapy for patients with mood disorders. These physicians have completed the only comprehensive training program in the use of ketamine therapy for physicians in North America and are now well prepared to help many patients with chronic major depression.
A 2017 consensus statement published in JAMA Psychiatry (Sanacora et al.) acknowledged the tremendous potential benefits of ketamine therapy for patients with depression and related conditions, citing “compelling evidence that the anti-depressant effects of ketamine infusion are both rapid and robust”. The same authors published consensus recommendations for the training necessary to provide the safe administration of ketamine to patients with mood disorders. In that statement, they recommend that in addition to “minimal general training” requirements, clinicians develop some level of experience with the specific method of ketamine administration before performing the procedure independently.
Unfortunately, many physicians currently offering ketamine therapy to patients, while well intentioned, have little experience or knowledge of the basic pharmacology and administration of ketamine. Because of this, we often receive calls from patients who have either not done well with ketamine or who have had unpleasant experiences.
We believe that the development of this intensive training course was necessary to ensure that physicians who provide ketamine infusion to patients meet the highest standards and qualifications necessary to provide safe and effective treatment for very difficult and chronic conditions like depression. Our rigorous standards are built on evidence-based didactics, supervised clinical infusions in a working infusion suite, and anesthesiology-standard practice for the administration of sedating anesthetics by non-anesthesiologists.
More than that, our graduates also gain additional practical experience during actual clinical ketamine infusions. This ensures that each physician completing our course will gain firsthand experience using ketamine and the maximal opportunity to work with us on a one-to-one basis to become proficient in administering it in a safe fashion.
Over the years, I have had the privilege and pleasure to constantly revise and refine this program after presenting various aspects of it in many venues including academic centers, hospitals, and government organizations to physicians, residents, and fellows. I am dedicated to ensuring that every student completing the course is competent in this new discipline and ready to incorporate it into practice.
Congratulations to our new physician graduates!
Vanessa Williams, MD – Orlando, Florida
Dr. med Ricardo Febres Landauro – Salzburg, Austria