A Powerful Therapy: 40 Seconds of Compassion

Through his pioneering work in the field of “Compassionomics,” Dr. Stephen W. Trzeciak has found that just 40 seconds of compassion can be a powerful therapy – not only for the receiver of compassion, but for the giver, too. It changes everything. In this TEDx talk, Dr. Trzeciak takes you on a journey through the evidence that compassion matters – in both meaningful and measurable ways. Science shows that compassionate care is beneficial for health (better patient outcomes), health care systems and payers (lower costs), and health care providers (lower burnout). That’s the power of 40 seconds. Stephen Trzeciak, MD, MPH, is a physician scientist and Professor of Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, and the physician leader of the Adult Health Institute at Cooper University Health Care in Camden, New Jersey. Dr. Trzeciak is a practicing intensivist (specialist in intensive care medicine), and a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinical researcher with more than 100 publications in scientific literature. Currently, Dr. Trzeciak’s scientific program is focused on a new line of research called “Compassionomics.” It’s the scientific evidence that caring makes a difference.

Click here for the TEDxPENN YouTube video of Dr. Trzeciak and his “Compassionomics” talk.