Physicians and Staff Inspire a Movement for Compassion in Health Care

What started as an idea in the operating room has expanded into a systemwide initiative across Rutgers Health and RWJBarnabas Health and University Hospital

For Keith P. Lewis, chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine within Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) at Rutgers, kindness is an essential part of the spectrum of care.

Three years ago, Lewis, chief of anesthesia at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, created KindOR Care - short for Kindness in the Operating Room - at the RWJBarnabas facility to remind medical professionals that acts of kindness and connection to others matter even in the most high-pressure environments.

"The operating room can be stressful," he said. "But when we intentionally create space for kindness, when we take a moment to thank one another or share a word of encouragement, it changes everything. We feel more connected and focused on our patients."

These small acts of kindness were needed particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewis said. That is when the curiosity of understanding others, showing gratitude and creating meaningful connections began. Starting out first with a simple smile, thank you and hello led to the distribution of Kind brand snack bars and "Be Kind" pins and stickers and was followed by stress-reducing activities, pet therapy, music and workplace activities.

Lewis, the vice dean at RWJMS known as "Dr. Kindness" by his colleagues, has inspired a system-wide initiative that is making kindness a core institutional value. Rutgers medical schools in New Brunswick and Newark and RWJBarnabas Health, the largest academic health care system in New Jersey with 14 hospitals, as well as University Hospital in Newark, are taking on the kindness mantle and observing World Kindness Day on Nov. 13.

"Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about," Lewis said. "In health care what we say to patients, when we let them know that we really care and we will be there for them, can be as important as any medication we administer to our patients."

World Kindness Day can be traced back to 1998, when a coalition of organizations from various nations initiated the international observance. Members of health care teams at the medical schools and the hospital sites mark the day with messages, murals and activities celebrating kindness in care. From surgical suites to administrative offices, staff share notes of appreciation and stories of simple acts of kindness that have made a big difference. Physicians, nurses, staff and students reflect on the power of simple acts of kindness.

In New Brunswick, festivities include musicians from Mason Gross School of the Arts performing in the Clinical Academic Building lobby and greetings for patients, faculty and staff. (Goodies will be available from Kindness Carts, too.) Teams of Kindness Ambassadors will be making rounds throughout the hospital and at medical school locations. Also, therapy dogs will be on site at the Schwartzman Courtyard at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

In Newark, Kindness Ambassadors and deans from New Jersey Medical School and University Hospital will visit the Medical Science Building, University Hospital and outpatient clinics in the afternoon, where they will thank staff and hand out Kind bars and other goodies.

Organizers said even though this celebration takes place annually, kindness can be embedded in everyday practice.

"Kindness is contagious," Lewis said. "People want to participate and spread acts of kindness among their team and with our patients … and ourselves. They want to tell stories about how kindness touched their day or others. That's how cultures begin to shift, one small action at a time."

That message has resonated throughout Rutgers. At New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), Iona Monteiro, a pediatric gastroenterologist, is helping lead efforts to replicate and expand the initiative in Newark.

"I was invited to chair the committee because of my involvement with peer support and the Care-to-Care program," said Monteiro, chair of the Kindness Committee at NJMS. "In health care, we should all be kind, but the reality is there's a lot of stress. This reminder that we need to be kind is so important."

Monteiro and her team are preparing for World Kindness Day with events that include visiting hospital floors, greeting colleagues and handing out Kind bars while thanking staff for their work.

"We'll wear sashes that say World KindnessDay Ambassadors and bring a little joy to people's day," she said.

For Monteiro, kindness begins with self-compassion and extends outward.

"It starts with being kind to yourself because we're often hard on ourselves. Then you spread that kindness to your colleagues, the staff, and your patients," she said. "When you say good morning, when you smile, it's a small thing, but it makes such a difference. Over time, people start doing it back, and that simple exchange brightens everyone's day."

She hopes to make kindness more than an annual observance.

"It shouldn't just be one day. It should be an ongoing culture," Monteiro said. "Kindness may help to reduce stress, and it brings joy to both the giver and the receiver."

Amy P. Murtha, dean of RWJMS, says initiatives such as KindOR and World Kindness Day reflect Rutgers' broader mission to foster empathy, well-being and community. It's a program, she said, that requires no special training and can be practiced anywhere.

"At Rutgers, we care for our students, residents, and fellows and for each other," Murtha said. "We advance medical education and deliver outstanding care while keeping our patients and communities at the heart of everything we do. Kindness strengthens that foundation."

"This occasion beautifully reminds us that compassion, respect, and understanding are not only fundamental to our work in medicine, but also essential to every interaction within our community," said Robert L. Johnson, dean of NJMS. "While World Kindness Day offers us a special moment to pause and recognize the profound impact of small acts of goodness, our NJMS community embodies these values every single day. Whether it's a comforting word to a patient, a supportive gesture for a colleague, or mentorship extended to a student, kindness is the thread that unites us all."

For Lewis, the goal is to understand that compassion in care is essential to healing.

"Kindness is not an extra," he said. "It's essential to who we are as health care professionals and as human beings."