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Exploring Humor in Healthcare: Benefits, Risks, and Strategies for Healthcare Professionals

Humor in healthcare is often underutilized, especially by nurses who are typically socialized to be serious. However, research shows that humor offers numerous benefits, from reducing stress and pain to improving immune function. While humor can enhance communication and minimize burnout, it's crucial to be mindful of potential side effects and contraindications. Developing a sense of humor requires self-awareness and a willingness to take risks. Strategies for incorporating humor in patient interactions vary based on individual receptiveness and context. This guide, inspired by Kevin Smith's work on humor in nursing, provides insights into using humor effectively and responsibly in healthcare settings.

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Exploring Humor in Healthcare: Benefits, Risks, and Strategies for Healthcare Professionals

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  1. Part 2: Humor and the HCP When, where, how, how not to, with whom, is it working, why you should care…

  2. Healthcare Professional • Humor is underutilized • Nurses are socialized to be serious • It’s a skill that many haven’t developed

  3. Research of Humor Benefits • Laughing lowers glucose • Reduces stress, pain • Improves immune function • Used as a weight-loss therapy • Allows for expression of anger • Minimizes professional burnout • Turns “ha, ha” into an “aha” moment • Laugh-learn connection • Social lubricant in groups

  4. Possible Side Effects Can be hurtful Someone can be offended Can distract from the message Can promote anger, prevent communication, increase anxiety, widen interpersonal gaps. Avoid these by keeping humor lighthearted.

  5. Contraindications During a crisis, such as high anxiety or serious discussion(may be more distracting and aggravating than tension relieving) During complex tasks(it is important not to stick humor in the middle of a task requiring full concentration)

  6. Developing Your Humor • 1. Know the benefits. • 2. Identify and avoid inappropriate humor. • 3. What is comfortable for you? Be genuine. • 4. Do a humor history. • 5. Take risks to add more humor. It’s a process not an event. • 6. Allow yourself to be silly. • 7. Hang out with humorous, positive people. • 8. Learn to laugh at yourself! • (From Smith, Kevin. Humor. Complementary/Alternative Therapies in Nursing, 2nd Edition, page 276. Used with permission.)

  7. What Do You See? OPPORTUNITY ISNOWHERE

  8. Part 3: Specific Diabetes Issues • Pt. population, gender, age, culture, goals • Case studies

  9. Environment for Humor Timing Receptiveness Content

  10. Strategies for Humor • Watch who is the punch line • Use common experiences and annoyances • Less is more • Use the rule of threes (2 expected associations, 3rd unexpected) • Relate the humor to your patient / audience • Practice! • Keep a notebook Adapted from: Secrets of Connecting Leadership & Learning with Humor, by Peter M. Jonas

  11. Patient Assessment and 1:1 • Test the waters: during greeting, assess readiness for humor. • Are they receptive to humor? • Watch their eyes. Alert? Look away? • Ask if humor is helpful. • Listen to the tonal quality of laugh. • Apologize if offense taken. • A patient’s humorous manner may signal an unstated wish to talk about feelings.

  12. Groups and Goal Setting • Encourages participants to have fun, open up and take risks. • Can provide insight into the group. • Humor can accentuate the discrepancy within a problem and facilitate goals. • Tell a short, humorous story or joke. • Share a cartoon; create a caption • Use ice-breakers, props • Use open-ended questions, voting, small- group activities, role-playing.

  13. Children • Should look quite different • Playfulness, body humor, music and facial expressions • Study of type 1 children (ages 4-11) re: the expectations for quality nursing care:*humane and reliable*have a good sense of humor*wear colorful clothes*Tell funny stories

  14. Adolescents May interpret the humor as making fun of them. Use cautiously after a relationship is established. Use matter-of-fact use of humor. They expect us to have a sense of humor and to know what we are doing.

  15. Older Adults Aging is associated with loss, except one’s sense of humor. Humor often relates to issues of loss. Use humor when providing nutrition info.

  16. Gender • Limited studies • Response to laughter… • Men vs. women (humor vs. self-disclosure). • Funniness ratings of cartoon humor showed no differencefor age, sex, region or origin. • Younger participants and males found cartoons more amusing.

  17. Cultural Issues Understand humor preferences within a culture. Native Americans have a great sense of humor; may be more subtle. Non-Natives need to allowtime for trust (often this will be evident when thepatient uses humor).

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