1. Dedication to help others — this is a “must” for every medical practitioner and health business owner!
2. Don’t be afraid to be innovative and move the needle.
3. Stay up to date with clinical studies and recent data.
4. Remain empathetic — it will inspire you to bring about change.
5. Don’t give up when faced with barriers and failures — they’re only an opportunity to reimagine the solution.
The global health and wellness market is worth more than 1.5 trillion dollars. So many people are looking to improve their physical, mental, and emotional wellness. At the same time, so many people are needed to help provide these services. What does it take to create a highly successful career in the health and wellness industry?
In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The Health and Wellness Industry” we are talking to health and wellness professionals who can share insights and stories from their experiences.
In this particular interview, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Roberto Garcia-Ibáñez.
Dr. Roberto Garcia-Ibáñez is the CEO and founder of Potens Allergy, a company that offers the Circava System™ therapy; a fast and effective immunotherapy treatment for allergies and allergy-induced asthma. Prior to founding Potens Allergy, Dr. Garcia-Ibáñez spent a decade researching the clinical effectiveness of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), commonly referred to as oral or under-the-tongue forms of immunotherapy, as an alternative to allergy shots, before developing the patented Circava System™ treatment. Still a practicing physician in the Tampa Bay area, Dr. Garcia-Ibáñez is a highly sought-after expert in the field and has presented the results of his research at several national allergy conventions and seminars.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you grew up?
I grew up in Guatemala, and was raised by two very hard working parents who embraced an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset, and taught me the value of giving back to the community. My mother was a social worker and educator who developed policies that supported Guatemalan women and children, and later on, worked to oversee rehabilitation programs for the blind and deaf in Guatemala. My father managed the first automated brick factory in Guatemala and later led the second largest pharmaceutical plant in the country.
Medical school exposed me to all the problems of society and the myriad of inequities in the healthcare system. As a medical student, I joined the Nutritional Research Institute as a resident in their metabolic unit and later as a research assistant carrying out field research. During this time, I observed firsthand how inequities in society have significant health impacts on low income communities. In the early 1980s, I immigrated to the United States for training in pediatrics and allergy and immunology.
Was there a particular person or event that inspired you to live a wellness-focused lifestyle? Can you tell us about your main motivation to go all in?
My parents’ health and lifestyle inspired me to live a wellness-focused life. They were both hard workers, but also made time for the simple pleasures. I strive to live up to this as well, while still balancing a healthy diet and incorporating exercise into my lifestyle. My father was an athlete until a few years before his passing at the age of 102, which inspired me to remain physically active. My children and grandchildren are my motivation to live a healthy lifestyle. It has always been important for me to teach them how to take care of themselves.
Most people with a wellbeing centered lifestyle have a “go-to” activity, exercise, beverage, or food that is part of their routine. What is yours and can you tell us how it helps you?
To remain physically active, I aim to swim three times a week and cycle 2–3 times a week. Mindfulness is also critical to well-being — I meditate at least 4–5 times a week.
I also make sure to remain hydrated — Water is such an important part of a healthy diet and one that I incorporate on a daily basis.
Since I see hundreds of patients a week, I don’t have a traditional office job where I sit behind a desk all day. I am constantly on my feet moving from room to room to see patients. I’d encourage those who have more time at a desk to get up and walk around every hour, or incorporate a walk during your lunch hour — it’s important to keep moving.
To live a wellness-focused life is one thing, but how did it become your career? How did it all start?
At a young age, I was interested in biology and the health sciences. My mother encouraged me to go into this profession and my middle and high school biology teachers inspired me to further my studies in the field. I worked hard to study this subject because I loved science and it came naturally to me. Research in the field of biology and wellness has been a large part of my interests since I was young, and I continue to enjoy it to this day.
While in medical school, I observed firsthand how socioeconomic inequalities were directly linked to health inequality, and I became motivated to help close that gap through my career.
Can you share a story about the biggest challenges you faced when you were first starting? How did you resolve that? What are the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
When I first started practicing medicine in the US, I felt that the number and types of medical diagnoses were different from what I learned during my studies in Guatemala. I found that to be an obstacle. Although I was able to quickly adapt, the medical issues in the US were far more complex than in Guatemala, and therefore understanding the healthcare industry took more time and patience to learn.
Can you share with us how the work you are doing is helping to make a bigger impact in the world? Can you share a story that illustrates that?
With 120 million people or more in the US suffering from allergic disease or allergic asthma, it’s very important to make immunotherapy treatment accessible to them. The current treatments simply aren’t accessible to the vast majority of allergy sufferers, including young children. I’m humbled to be able to offer an alternative allergy treatment that can easily be incorporated into the patient’s daily routine, so that they can commit to the treatment and enjoy the benefits in their quality of life and improve their overall health. It’s also proven to be effective in underserved populations, as well as children as young as 3.5 years old.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
Over the past two decades, I have worked on clinical trials to identify new allergy treatment options. Findings from the clinical studies have led to the development of my patented protocol, Circava System™ therapy. This therapy treats patients as young as 3.5 years old, setting a new precedent for allergy treatment — as normally, traditional allergy shots are not available for patients until they reach the age of six. By offering this therapy to most age groups, we’re helping a broader number of people.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
All new projects are going to face obstacles. The three traits that were most instrumental to my success were 1) resilience 2) determination and 3) conviction.
- Resilience — I was told over and over again that the Circava System therapy™ concept would not work. I didn’t allow this to stop me and continued to find a way to make it work and bring the therapy to the general public.
- Determination — I’ve developed a desire for innovation in allergy treatment due to an outdated 112 year treatment that is plagued with problems and doesn’t necessarily meet the needs of most in society.
- Conviction — I believe that creating greater access to allergy treatment helps to eliminate health inequalities.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition of terms so that all of us are on the same page.
Wellness is an incredibly broad topic. How would you define the term “Wellness”? Can you explain what you mean?
My personal definition of wellness is the daily practice of healthy habits (i.e drinking water, eating a balanced diet, exercise, managing stress, etc.) to attain better physical and mental health.
As an expert, this might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to expressly articulate this. Can you please share a few reasons with our readers about why focusing on our wellness should be a priority in our lives?
A healthy body helps achieve a happy mindset. I firmly believe that taking care of your body is central to overall happiness and enjoyment in life.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increasingly growing understanding of the necessity for companies to be mindful of the wellness of their employees. For the sake of inspiring others, can you share steps or initiatives that companies have taken to help improve or optimize their employees’ mental and physical wellness?
I had to make sure to keep my team safe, as we continued to see patients during the pandemic. I provided our staff with N95 masks and implemented other safety protocols to keep Covid at bay. Since then, we have made sure to offer flexibility to employees who need time away.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The Health and Wellness Industry”? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.
1. Dedication to help others — this is a “must” for every medical practitioner and health business owner!
2. Don’t be afraid to be innovative and move the needle.
3. Stay up to date with clinical studies and recent data.
4. Remain empathetic — it will inspire you to bring about change.
5. Don’t give up when faced with barriers and failures — they’re only an opportunity to reimagine the solution.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would promote the most wellness to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂 If you could get everyone with allergies to do one thing better, what would that be?) — get more sleep, eat a better diet, exercise — i.e Universal healthcare for all, expanding care to vulnerable patients in intercity.
First, for those with allergies and asthma, I would help address one of the major causes for their symptoms that they may not be aware of — carpet flooring. There are many people who are not aware that carpet flooring actually exacerbates allergy symptoms. Removing these in homes can be a helpful way to minimize symptoms.
Second, there are many inequities in our US healthcare system. As a country, we need to better address these inequalities and offer services for the populations that need them the most.
We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have many incredible mentors in my life. One of which is the late Robert Good, the founder of immunology at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL. Sadly he is no longer with us, but since he made such an impact on my life — both personally and professionally — I would love to sit with him once again over a meal.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find more information about my work at PotensAllergy.com. I am also available on LinkedIn.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
