Hola a todos, my dear friends.

Today we have a new friend and guest, Dr. José Manuel Salas.

A couple of days ago, Dr. Ángela Algaba, mate of the ICU of Hospital Universitario de Torrejón , sent me the next post of José Manuel. After reading, I got in touch with him to share it with all of you.

And that´s life! José also has a special relation with Bolivia. So, we have started a new friendship and for sure we will work together in some projects.

This is his wonderful blog: Your Family Doctor…reflexiones con tinta de médico (only available in Spanish)

Here is his post: Doctors also cry.

Wellcome to the IC-HU Project José Manuel. And thank you.

“And the world was surprised to see the photo of a doctor crying after losing a patient, and the healthcare professionals were surprised to see the reaction from the world.”

And we were surprised because we already know that under each robe, pajamas or university degree in the area of health, there is always a human being.

A human being, having the ability to suffer and feel like anyone else.

Who has not ever seen crying to a companion in a shift?

Who do not end up once collapsed after a story with a sad ending?

Who didn´t imagine for a second what would happen if we were on the other side?

For sure, it´s a great mistake to think in the topic “men don’t cry”, but worst favor made us that some placed our profession on a pedestal above the rest, because nothing is farther from reality than this erroneous vision.


Because medicine is practiced from the humility, with feet on the ground and next to the patient.

I never shared that traditional stereotype, of the eternal sacrifice of the physician, who takes our profession 24 hours a day and is obliged to marry with medicine, putting fist the profession.

We are human, we are alive, and we try to do our job the best as possible. We study and prepare for it, but our humanity is that makes us great an we must never relinquish.

Professionals who work in emergencies live limit emotional situations, full of tension and stress. And at the end of our assistance we have the right to bring us down, cry, and openly express what we feel. Because of don´t do it, we could forget the human seal of our profession, what differentiates us today of a simple machine. That things that tells us we are something more than a lot of skin and bones. We are soul and feeling.


And we must not forget that we are dealing with people, and how I usually say my residents, sometimes we must not seek the best medicine between the pages of a book, because it´s inside ourselves.

Because definitely, gods don’t cry, but doctors do it.

J.M Salas