education and training THE MODEL OF PERSON-CENTERED MEDICINE AND THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE

During the last decade, a series of new models have trans-formed our understanding of the concept of health and of the implementation of health care systems. Person-cen-tered medicine (PCM) model is one of them (1). The Inter-national College of Person-Centered Medicine (ICPCM) promotes medicine of the person, for the person, by the person, and with the person. The ICPCM emerged from the ongoing annual Geneva Conferences as a strong interna-tional network of dozens of leading world-wide medical organizations and institutions (2-4). The first Geneva Con-ference on Person-Centered Medicine was held in May 2008, under the auspices of ten global institutions, includ-ing medical organizations, international bodies of health professionals, and associations of patients and families. Starting with the Fifth Geneva Conference, a Geneva Dec