There was the guy who stepped on a rusty nail and requested “a technical shot,” the girl who complained, “I’m hurting in my semi privates,” and the patient who boasted, “I’m so crazy I’m tripolar.”
While there’s a lot of “nurse humor” out there, much of it fairly outrageous or disgusting—and very necessary, as a way of letting off steam—we get the feeling from Terry Foster‘s popularity that his jokes, anecdotes, and delivery may actually be a few cuts above. Christine Moffa, AJN‘s clinical editor, concurs: “I’ve seen him perform . . . . He’s very funny. Tears-streaming-down funny.” Foster’s also been through some rough times, including a brain tumor and the death of his young wife.
Has anything even remotely funny (that you can share without breaking patient confidentiality!) happened to you lately on the job? How important is a good sense of humor in the nursing profession?
Humor is EVERYTHING! I have a sign in my kitchen that reads as follows:
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they will never cease to be amused.
In nursing, it’s just as important. My patients make me laugh every single day. Then I have the days when if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry. And sometimes I cry, anyway. Anyway, I wouldn’t be able to do it without a sense of humor, personally.