Rutgers Medical Students Help Hospital Patients Look and Feel Their Best

Wielding scissors and razors, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School students help those who are hospitalized and feeling scruffy

When you’re ill and hospitalized, it’s not easy to keep up with basic daily grooming — especially if your hospital stay is long and drawn out. Not looking clean and neat may affect your mood, your happiness (or lack thereof), and even your outlook on life.

Seeing this issue firsthand at Newark’s University Hospital as a Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) student, Vaishali Ravikumar decided to tackle it head-on. Her initiative launched in 2021 became Bergen Barbers, a program providing haircutting and shaving services for hospitalized patients in University Hospital’s trauma and medicine services. A small team of NJMS students groom hospitalized patients seeking a trim or a shave. (The name comes from Bergen Street in Newark, where University Hospital is located.)

Ravikumar, who graduated last year and is now a an OBGYN Intern at the University of Arizona, came up with the idea as a third-year student, during her trauma surgery rotation.

“A patient who had been hospitalized for many days became so frustrated that he was on the verge of checking himself out against medical advice,” she says. “His long, matted hair and unbrushed beard were making him very uncomfortable. My attending [physician] suggested I do something about it.”

Grabbing a few toiletries from hospital closets and supply rooms, she was able to give the patient a makeshift barbershop experience.

“He requested a faux hawk, and I did my best to deliver,” Ravikumar says. “We laughed and talked through the whole process, and I learned a lot about him. When I finished, he was in much better spirits and trusted his health care team more than before. He ended up staying in the hospital for the duration and healed well.”

Pleased with the outcome, Ravikumar wanted to devise a way to bring these services to other patients similarly facing extended hospital stays. She recruited a several NJMS student volunteers to help: Hetal Lad, Sowntharya Ayyappan, Ivan Loncar, Shivani Srivastava and Matthew Del Signore, who has since graduated and is an internal medicine resident at St. Luke’s.

They’d never cut hair before, “and I’d certainly never given anyone a shave,” Ravikumar says. So, they did what people do when trying to learn new skills: watched YouTube videos.

“We learned how to use a clipper and how to give a basic haircut,” Ravikumar says. “Using waterless shampoo with a small spray bottle of water, we dampen the hair, shampoo it and towel it dry. For women, we do a straight cut. For men, we ask how short they want it.”

The nursing staff on the surgery and medicine floors selects the patients, she says.

“We make sure patients are able to provide consent and do not have a traumatic brain injury or any medical device in the head or face that might be an obstacle,” Ravikumar says. “Patients with severe blood clotting disorders are also ruled out.”

So far, Bergen Barbers have heard nothing but raves. Among the patient comments:

• “My head feels cleaner and more comfortable. I can feel a breeze again!”
• “Now I won’t have food stuck in my beard and mustache, which has been grossing me out.”
• "I wish I had my wallet here so I could pay you!”

The team plans to hold a fundraiser to add more products to their arsenal: nail polish, aftershave and products for textured and curly hair. They want to learn how to braid Black women’s hair, too — and hope to have mannequins one day to practice on.

Bergen Barbers is part of the Pozen Scholars Program. Created in 2009, the program supports meaningful student-run community activities. The group is guided by faculty mentor Amy Gore, an assistant professor of surgery. “I was so excited when Vaishali approached me with this idea and felt it could be a fantastic way to connect with patients and greatly contribute to their psychological wellbeing,” Gore says. “It has been truly inspirational watching her bring Bergen Barbers to fruition and recruit an incredible team to keep the project alive as she transitions into residency.”

“It’s rewarding to feel that I contributed to the medical team and served my community with skills I learned on my own,” Ravikumar says. “I’m excited to continue our work and see our reach expand.”