Humor Plays An Important Role In Healthcare Even When Patients Are Terminally Ill
Canadian researchers spent nearly 300 hours observing and carrying out interviews with staff, patients and families in an intensive care unit and a palliative care unit for people with terminal illnesses. They concluded that "combined with scientific skill and compassion, humor offers a humanizing dimension in healthcare that is too valuable to be overlooked."
Canadian researchers study use of humour in an intensive care unit and palliative care unit
Humour can play an essential role in the most serious healthcare settings, even when patients are receiving intensive or end of life care, according to research in the April issue of the UK-based Journal of Clinical
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"Some people feel that humour is trivial and unprofessional in healthcare settings, but this study shows that it is neither" says co-author Dr Ruth Dean, a nurse researcher from the University of Manitoba.
Dr Dean carried out the study in the palliative care unit, spending 200 hours observing and informally interacting with care providers, patients and family members and carrying out semi-structured interviews with 15 healthcare staff, including nurses, doctors, a social worker and physiotherapist.
Her colleague Joanne Major from the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg spent 72 hours in an intensive care unit, observing and carrying out semi-structured interviews with 15 nurses.
"Despite major differences between the work of the intensive care and palliative care units, they are both areas where serious illness, high anxiety and patient and family distress are prevalent and staff are placed in emotionally demanding situations" says Dr Dean. "Crises are frequent, death is close by and emotions tend to run high."
The authors conclude that humour was very important in these stressful healthcare settings.
"One member of staff referred to humour as the glue that holds human connections together, a statement that was clearly reinforced by our
The Impact of Humor As Leo Rosten, an American humorist and author states, “Humor is the affectionate communication of insight” Humor is an intelligent way to enforce an argument to your audience. With the employment of humor, the authors are able to persuade their readers into understanding, and sometimes agreeing with their opinions. Humor allows authors to have the insight about their topic thus, giving the author credibility and zealousness. In Laura Fraser's essay, “Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian”, she employs the element of humor to strengthen her essay in a myriad of ways.
A real life example that is envisioned when I think about humour in a tragic circumstance is when a person begins to laugh before they
Humor is the ingredient that keeps it all moving, holds the bigger picture, inspires and brings a sense of gratitude for life. Aspiring to these qualities illuminates the lack of them at times. When I hit this kind of wall or low, I turn to the smile and humor to elevate my
Without much thought, humor can appear as a simple descriptive term for a work of literature, film, speech, or any form of entertainment. “Humor” is a two syllable word often used to describe something amusing. Diving deeper into the subject of “humor” however, reveals the complexity and truly expansive topic that is humor and how it can be used to promote serious messages. Three works of literature that are generally accepted to be “humorous” are Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, Louisa May Alcott’s Transcendental Wild Oats, and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. These works of literature, although each written more or less than half a century apart, share some sound similarities.
Hospice and palliative care can be easily intertwined; they are both concerned with promoting comfort and relieving patient pain. Hospice and palliative care, however, are different in some aspects. Patients who receive hospice care are nearing the end of their lives and there is no effort to cure their disease; the goal is to provide pain relief, a sense of belonging from family and friends if desired, support through the dying stages, and to assure that the person is able to die with dignity. Palliative care is also focused on reducing discomfort; however, the patient receiving care can be at any stage in their disease. Additionally, palliative care can also be administered during a time when a patient is receiving treatment to cure their illness.
This is an example of changing the situation. B. Based on Critchley’s article humor functions as anti-depressant by allowing the cognitive relation to, oneself and the world. “Humor has the same formal structure as depression but it’s an anti-depressant”. It’s a way to suppress depression by being able to find positive functions for the superego.
Nancy Mairs forces a sharp-witted and blunt tone on the reader in her essay, “On Being A Cripple.” A new perspective is explored, on being disabled as well as the word “crippled” which is found offensive by most of society. While keeping the piece light and relatable, she shines a light on the guilty pity thrown on the disabled, treatment no one asks for. Although it is a generally light piece, Mairs uses humor, anecdotes, and diction to improve the treatment of physically disabled. Humor- Mairs lives with multiple sclerosis, and when the reader realizes this it immediately makes them feel sympathy for her.
For example, on their fishing excursion McMurphy “knows [they] have to laugh at the things that hurt... to keep the world from running plumb crazy… he’ll let the humor blot out the pain” (Kesey 250). Accepting the absurdity and adopting a sense of humor is important to get through the negative and spread laughter and joy rather than accept the dull fate of ordinary life. McMurphy acts as a savior who brings happiness and vibrant life to the patients by exposing them to laughter and humor. McMurphy gives confidence to the
In the novel laughter play a major role by representing a type of freedom and an escape from nurse Ratched’s restrictions. Laughter proves a vital role in helping the patients deal with their problems. Not only does
For example, Stephanie Pangowish, an Anishinabe Comedian talked on a Ted Talk about how her father used humor to heal after seeing his siblings getting kidnapped by the Indian agents. To make joy and laughter out of the situation, he simply said “they were too slow”. By using humor to address difficult experiences, Indigenous peoples can both acknowledge their pain and find joy within their culture. Humor can provide a sense of relief, allowing people to move forwards from traumatic experiences with a sense of healing and hope. Humor can be a powerful tool for building and strengthening communities.
Judy Brady mainly uses humor throughout her article, but other ways it may be interpreted may include to build bridges or to sustain an
One of the most valuable aspects of personality is humor – we value one’s sense of humor and make friends often based on finding certain things funny. But how and why do we consider things to be funny at all? Human beings have strived to uncover fundamental truths about human nature for centuries – even millennia – but humor itself is still yet to be pinpointed. Henri Bergson is only one of many who has attempted this feat, and his essay Laughter: an essay on the meaning of the comic from 1911 breaks down comedy into what he believes to be its essential forms and origins. While Bergson makes many valid points, Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times that was brought to screens only twenty years later seems to contradict many of Bergson’s theories, while Bergson seems to contradict even himself over the course of his essay.
All of these touchy subjects use humor as a mechanism to cope, allowing humor to tell a sad story. A prominent example in the story was Brod. “[Brod] had to satisfy herself with the idea of love—loving the loving of things whose existence she didn't care at all about. Love itself became the object of her love” (80). She had experienced many life difficulties and hardships which contributed to her hopelessness of finding and having love.
In the past I have shown my strength in this area of nursing care when looking after family members that have fallen victim to sickness. Whenever someone tells me that they are not feeling well, I immediately jump into action and try my best to make sure that they feel “cared for” .The feeling of pride and satisfaction I experience after caring for a person that is unwell is what originally made me choose nursing as a career. Caring is a basic attribute of human growth and development (Griffin 1983). This is why, as a nursing student I know it is such an important strength to be utilised when helping a patient to feel better.
On the other hand, the theme of “Typhoid Fever” by Frank McCourt is that you can make the best out of a bad situation if you stay positive. The author demonstrates this theme with the quote “Then Patricia whispers, Give thanks, Francis, give thanks, and say your rosary, Francis, and I laugh so hard a nurse runs in to see if I’m alright.” In this quote, Frank and his new friend, Patricia mock the seriousness of the nurses when they are told not to talk to each other. Instead of worrying about their illnesses and well-being, these two sick children use sarcastic humor to cheer each other up. Although there are many things that could have made them very upset, they found