ArticleMedicine, health care, and philosophy2020
Humor and sympathy in medical practice.
Article in Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Communicating empathy sympathy and compassion in healthcare consultations: a systematic review of applied linguistic research.BMC health services research · 2026Pooled it
- Attention, Engagement, and Retention Walk Into a Noon Conference: Using Humor to Improve Resident Education.Journal of graduate medical education · 2026Article
- The Effects of Humor in Clinical Settings on Medical Trainees and the Implications for Medical Educators: A Scoping Review.Medical science educator · 2023Article
- Motivations and Personal Traits Can Predict Self-Efficacy of the Clown Therapist: A Descriptive Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Spiritual Care: A Description of Family Members' Preferences of Spiritual Care Nursing Practices in Intensive Care Units in a Private Hospital in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Humour and laughing in patients with prolonged incurable cancer: an ethnographic study in a comprehensive cancer centre.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Medical professionals seem to interpret their uses of humor very differently from those outside the medical profession. Nurses and physicians argue that humor is necessary for them to do their jobs well. Many (potential) patients are horrified that they could one day be the butt of their physician's jokes. The purpose of this paper is to encourage the respectful use of humor in clinical prac-tice, so as to support its importance in medical practice, while simultaneously protecting against its potential abuse. I begin by examining two extremes of supporting or chastising the use of medical humor. I look at these views through the lenses of popular theories of humor to help explain their theoretical bases. In this second section, I explain the emotional aspect of humor as an embodied and embedded transformation of the world. This clarifies the role that humor plays in our daily lives, as well as why the ethical or unethical nature of its use is dependent on context. Third, I address the potential problems in the relationship between humor and clinical sympathy, and how this further affects the relationship between medical professionals and their patients. I conclude by arguing that humor can conflict with clinical sympathy, but this need not be the case. If medical professionals actively engage with clinical sympathy and focus on using humor in a way that is respectful towards their patients, then humor can continue to be a positive force in their lives while still providing the best care for their patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.