The ATLANTES Program of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra has celebrated the first session of its series ATLANTES and Friends. This is an open online seminar in which the members of this group dialogue with other international researchers about gratitude in palliative care. The initiative is part of the project 'The phenomenon of gratitude in the field of palliative care'.

In this first meeting , the US-based association DAISY Foundation was invited to talk about gratitude as "valuable recognition". 

ICS nurse and researcher María Arantzamendi explained that the association was born in November 1999, following the death of Patrick Barnes at the age of 33 from an autoimmune disease. It was promoted by Barnes' family to thank the nurses for caring for him. 

During the seminar, Tena Barnes - Patrick's widow - said they wanted to turn his suffering "into something positive". Thus, they created the foundation to grant the DAISY Award: a award that has as goal to recognize "extraordinary nurses".

For her part, Patrick's mother, Bonnie Barnes, expressed her interest in seeing award - which has already spread from the USA to 28 other countries - reach professionals in Spain: "Nurses need to be recognised and families need a way to express their gratitude".

ATLANTES and Friends will hold two more sessions in the near future. On 22 January 2021, Swiss researchers Bernard Mathieu and Emmanuelle Poncin will talk about gratitude at the end of life among patients and healthcare professionals. And on 19 February, Giskin Day, from King's College London, will delve into the relationship between gratitude and healthcare. Registrations for attend in person or through Zoom can be made by sending an email to Estefanía Berjón: eberjon@unav.es.