Articles
Loving-kindness meditation may extend life expectancy
A study in the journal Pscychoneuroendocrinology and reported in Inc. finds that a mediation technique that encourages you to open your heart to others can slow telomere attrition.
Kindness: an underrated currency
From the British Medical Journal, an editorial discussing recent research into the transformative power of kindness in healthcare, and argues for qualitative measures and outcomes to be equal to the quantitative when considering "our core purpose of delivering the best care possible".
Can doctors learn from super chickens?
Associate Professor David Brewster and Dr Malcolm Clark refer to William M Muir's "super chickens" research to point out the importance of teamwork over individual performance, and share the view that breaking down our culture focusing on individual acclaim can address the ongoing reality of bullying in the healthcare workplace.
Why being kind can help you live longer
UCLA's recently founded Bedari Kindness institute applies scientific rigour to the study of a normally more emotive topic. Their studies include anthropologists examining how kindness spreads between people, sociologists analysing how those who behave unkindly could be persuaded to be kind, and psychologists researching how kindness can improve mood and reduce depression symptoms.
Who heals the healer?
From JAMA Network, Huma Farid MD shares her very personal experience of losing, and then rediscovering empathy, and the role of the doctor-patient relationship in each other's wellbeing.
The amazing health benefits of kindness
Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. explain in Renew Houston research that shows how even the simplest acts of kindness like a daily hug can increase wellbeing and reduce the likelihood of getting sick.
The 'Rabbit Effect'
Colman McCarthy from the nonprofit Center for Teaching Peace discusses research that has found that nurturing behaviour contributes to better health outcomes.
Incivility Hurts
This article from wrapem.org by ED physician Dr Ellen Meyns, FACEM discusses the impacts of disrespectful treatment of medical staff by their colleagues, and the ripple effect felt by other staff, teams, patients and families. Often unintentional, simple incivility can impact decision-making and contribute to burnout.
Applying Community Organizing Principles to Restore Joy in Work
This article from NEJM Catalyst by Jessica Perlo, MPH and Derek Feeley, DBA suggests "Caring and healing should be joyful activities, not sources of stress" and share their experience of using a community organising approach to foster joy in the healthcare workplace.
For Leaders, Decency Is Just as Important as Intelligence
Most leaders understand the importance of both intellectual and emotional intelligence. This article by Bill Boulding from Harvard Business Review argues the modern-day case for a third quality: decency.
For the sake of doctors and patients, we must fix hospital culture
When hospitals fail to create a culture where doctors and nurses can speak up patients pay the price, say resident physicians and journalists Blair Bigham and Amitha Kalaichandran. Published by BMJ.
Empathy is a skill that improves with practice
Stanford Psychologist Jamil Zaki, author of The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World discusses research that finds empathy is not determined by our genes but is a skill that can be developed. Published by Stanford Medicine.
Download the pdf
Creative health: the arts for health and wellbeing
British All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report. Download this very informative and thought-provoking document discussing the ways the arts can be employed to improve health in the community, workplace and care environments.
Negative workplace cultures and patient care
Professor Johanna Westbrook, Director of the Centre for Health System Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie University, writes in the Sydney Morning Herald about the impact of workplace culture on patient care and even safety.
Kind doctors have healthier patients
A new book “Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes a Difference,” provides evidence that doctors who practice kindness and compassion have better patient outcomes.
Can the Arts Help Critical-Care Health Professionals Cope?
A new federally funded research lab at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is looking into how creative arts therapies could strengthen resilience in critical-care health professionals.
UT College of Medicine Chattanooga trains doctors to show compassion, kindness
University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga student Robert Goodrich designed and distributed his own compassionate care survey.
When the doctor becomes the patient
Former Federal AMA President Dr Steve Hambleton shared his gratitude for the efforts both large and small made by staff at Canberra Hospital to make him feel safe and welcome when he suddenly became ill at a meeting.
Prof. Catherine Crock AM and Lucy Mayes at the IHI/BMJ Conference, Melbourne September 2018
Professor Catherine Crock AM, founder of the Hush Foundation and Gathering of Kindness, and Lucy Mayes, author of Beyond the Stethoscope: doctors' stories of reclaiming hope, heart and healing in medicine will be at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Melbourne, 10-12 Sep, 2018, organised by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and BMJ.
When doctors are bullied, all of society is harmed
Dr Ranjana Srivastava shares stories of her personal feelings of disempowerment and that of her colleagues in the face of the embedded bullying culture in hospitals.
Harnessing hope: the role of music and play in one girl's struggle to fight cancer
This article from ABC Radio Sydney explains the role of play music therapy in Hiyam's hospital experience, focusing on the person while the medical team focuses on the illness.
Soft Skills will improve our health system
In this article from the Sydney Morning Herald, Hush Foundation board member and passionate supporter of Gathering of Kindness Dr Frank Daly, and Chairman of North Sydney Local Health District Trevor Danos, explain how training in compassion and empathy can profoundly impact the health system.
Health Professional Radio - Building Better Relationships Among Patients and Health Professionals
Dr Catherine Crock AM discusses the concerning culture growing in the medical industry the past few years where the patients and health professionals don’t communicate properly and never see eye to eye.
Falling Through the Cracks: Greg's Story
This new film explores the journey of Greg Price, a 31-year-old Alberta man, who died in 2012 of complications from surgery for testicular cancer. Initiated by Greg's family, it uses Hollywood-style storytelling to help educate medical students about treating patients as people.
Read an appraisal by Dr Brian Goldman here .
Learn about the film and the Greg's Wings charity here.
by Rachel Callander
Gathering of Kindness 2017 presenter and thought leader Rachel Callander has created this insightful and accessible white paper on communication that cares for everyone involved in the healthcare process.
Effective Communication in Healthcare
 Ogaga Urhie created Of the Mindful Physician to discover the contributions of other disciplines toward health and healthcare, and to explore how the arts and humanities can help build stronger relationships with patients. |  Nurse "James" frankly discusses his experience of bullying in mental health nursing |  Prabhjot Singh, MD and Niyum Gandhi are authors of the forthcoming book, “Investing in Better Healthcare,” published by Columbia Business School Publishing. |
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 Renowned Oncologist and Guardian columnist Dr Ranjana Srivastava appreciates the humanity behind the care she experienced as the parent of an injured child. |  Renowned Oncologist and Guardian columnist Dr Ranjana Srivastava admires the power of going the extra empathic mile |