Some days one rises more “friendly” than others.

These days, nothing or no one should break this state of “kindness”. However, places, people, events and our own lack of interest, determine staying kind.

Today we have raised “friendly” and I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to invite you – and that we consider – some thoughts that prevent that this feeling is something fleeting.

The ICUs are definitely not friendly, and often by people that inhabit them. In words of Lola Escudero “The Intensive Care Unit is a beautiful place where we give life, but is also a hostile place where patients are facing a terrible disease in very adverse conditions.”

But can be friendly the ICU or hostility is inevitable?.


Wikipedia says: “Kindness is a delicate plant that germinates only in “land”, “climates” and special conditions, this means, that occurs from a context and a facilitator environment where the person develop a friendly behavior.” Some ideas about the positive feelings that these special conditions should awaken are removed from this paragraph:

· AFFECTION: Be accepted with our qualities and defects.

· JOY as habit: Show happy about staying alive.

· CONFIDENCE: Believe in the capabilities, and convey the message that the difficulties can be overcome.

· ACCEPTANCE: value uniqueness, stimulate thinking for oneself, with honesty and respect for others.

· SECURITY: feel close, interested, at fingertips.

We often assume that “things are as they are and they must remain without any change”. And we all lose. We are still losing.

Will we continue losing? Maybe Yes. Only if we do not allow anything or anyone that take us control of our state. And this happens most of the time, unconscious, subliminal way. We arrived at work, to our unit and take for assumed that it is normal to separate technology, gravity, suffering, mechanical ventilation, monitors, rush… of KINDNESS. And thus we perpetuate unkind units with unkind people.

We propose you to identify what prevents our unit would be an #UCIamable , but also that emphasize everything that leads to an #UCIamable .

We are committed to the #UCIamable as opposed to the dark, closed, restricted and unknown ICU that outside people may perceive us.

We will tell you and we invite you also to tell it with your messages or some thoughts like the following:

– I want a #UCIamable.


– An #UCIamable is sensitive to the pain of the patients and their families.

– In the #UCIamable we share a fundamental objective: solving critical problems of people.

– In the #UCIamable professionals care for their relationships because we want feeling and make feel good care.

– In the #UCIamable people greet you and greets patients.

– Technology is compatible with the #UCIamable: helps us to achieve our goals.

– Work in an #UCIamable makes me go home satisfied.

– There are some who now should be gone to pick asparagus because it is not helping that we are comfortable in our #UCIamable.

-Space and its distribution help us to have an #UCIamable.

-Respect for the points of views of the patient and their family make of Unit an #UCIamable.

Would you like an #UCIamable? We encourage you to share it.
We want to hear you and disseminate your message.

Jose Manuel Velasco