When, where, how, how not to, with whom, is it working, why you should care

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Part 2 Humor and the HCP
When, where, how, how not to, with whom, is
it working, why you should care
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Healthcare Professional

• Humor is underutilized
• Nurses are socialized to be serious
• Its a skill that many havent developed

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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

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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.
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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)
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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. Its 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.)
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What Do You See?
OPPORTUNITY ISNOWHERE
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Part 3 Specific Diabetes Issues

• Pt. population, gender, age, culture, goals
• Case studies

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Environment for Humor
Timing Receptiveness Content
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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
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Patient Assessment and 11

• 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 patients humorous manner may signal an
  unstated wish to talk about feelings.

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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.

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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 carehumane
  and reliablehave a good sense of humorwear
  colorful clothesTell funny stories

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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.

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Older Adults

• Aging is associated with loss, except ones
  sense of humor.
• Humor often relates to issues of loss.
• Use humor when providing nutrition info.

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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.
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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).