As nurses, we deal with life and death situations everyday, but how do wesurvive the stress? Many studies have shown that humor, whether it isnurse-to-nurse, nurse-to physician or nurse-to-patient, helps alleviate some ofthe stress.
Humor Defined
According to Merriam-Webster, humor is something that is or is designed tobe comical or amusing. According to Karyn Buxman RN MSN, a well-known lecturerabout nursing and humor and publisher of the online magazine, The Journalof Nursing Jocularity, “Humor can be a healthy coping mechanism.”
Is It Appropriate In the Workplace?
Patients are sick, possibly dying, so how can we be laughing? Best explainedby Buxman, “Laughter can be used to dispel tension and accumulated emotion in asocially acceptable way.”
Amidst a difficult or emotion-evoked situation on the nursing unit, humorcan help to diffuse the tension. In the midst of a crisis, when dealingdirectly with a serious medical issue, humor can be viewed as an inappropriateresponse. After the fact, whether a child has died or a patient has beenresuscitated, a little laughter can help the staff get through tough moments.Remember, laughter will not replace our frustration, sadness or anger with asituation, but it will help us get through the difficult moments. Humor canhelp the staff deal with the tension, until a time when they can safely andappropriately react to the seriousness of what transpired.
Clinical psychologist and lecturer, Steven Sultanoff PhD, states, “Humorhelps place crisis in perspective and helps to make the crisis moremanageable.”
Exercise Caution
Never laugh at a patient, but it can be great to laugh with them. Laughingcan serve as a form of pain control for some patients and putting patients atease with humor can help open lines of communication as they relax and feelmore comfortable sharing.
Share your humor in appropriate places, not in the midst of the patient carearea during a tense moment. Back at the nursing station, share a light momentwith colleagues. The staff members working together on each shift work as aunit. They are in it together so sharing a light moment can only make a bondstronger.
The Benefits of Humor in Nursing
Good working relationships and higher morale are often the result of alittle laughter among colleagues. Experiencing humor in the workplace can helpto prevent burnout, especially in high-stress units such as critical careunits, oncology and pediatrics.
Besides, there are physical benefits too. When you laugh, your muscles relaxand produce a general sense of well-being. Did you hear the one about the…?