hi everyone my name is kylie i'm currently a freshman here at cal i am excited to present to you this topic of humor as a humanizing force in medical staff patient interactions during political strife mark twain encourage a country with the words against the assault of laughter nothing can stand twain dedicated these words specifically to humor in american politics however could these words pertain to the medical field as well for example laughter could assault the fear of death pain and stress which are endemic in society yet concentrated in the hospital setting organizations and networks like the american association for therapeutic humor and the international society for humor studies acknowledge humorous importance in the healthcare setting medical professionals however can emotionally can be emotionally distanced from patients which is reflected in their humor prompting the need to re-examine when humor can be appropriate in medicine focusing on the films the doctor and patch adams conflicting humor is evident humor that increases the divide between medical staff and clients and humor that unites them as fellow human beings for instance the doctor portrays sarcasm and gallows humor to objectify patients while patch adams portrays a doctor who prioritizes humor to connect with patients rather than just mechanizing the job without caring for their emotional well-being this project seeks to prove the commonly held belief of laughter as a best medicine to be futile in the hospital setting unless it points to shared humanity of both medical professionals and clients first it is important to understand the common belief of humor as the best medicine research studies show a clear correlation between humor and cardiovascular benefits relaxation of muscles and a reduction in pain norman cousins an american political journalist who battled a crippling disease states that he made the joyous discovery that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give him at least two hours of pain-free sleep showing the power of humor as an alleviator of pain furthermore statistics show that laughter improves metabolism functions release of endorphins and a higher quality sleep while also boosting immune system through an increase of hormones killer cells and antibodies to fight off foreign invaders to the human body these statistics of humor benefiting health are convincing yet what happens if humor fails in a health care setting on the one hand the film the doctor reveals humor that is entirely detrimental to a patient's well-being for example the humor of dr jack mckee a highly successful surgeon only increases the divide between himself and his powerless and vulnerable patients when a patient shares her concern about a scar on her chest mckee's humor sharply dismisses her worry with a statement tell your husband you look like a playboy centerfold you have a staple marks to prove it this humor obliterates any trust that could have been developed since a patient who had just gained courage to express her concern was slammed in the face with insensitive humor across the board mckee and his co-workers joke as a way to keep patients distance from themselves [Music] furthermore dr mckee uses gallows humor which undermines the sanctity of human life to explain this term a physician when interviewed describes scala humor as whistling as you go through a graveyard and kicking over the gravestones katie watson a lawyer author and bioethicist calls it humor that treats serious frightening or painful subject matter in a light or satirical way further explaining the previous graveyard analogy in the film dr jack mckee while at the bedside of a suicide patient who had jumped off the fifth fifth floor of a building says loudly next time ten floors minimum this humor has no respect whatsoever for human life and is completely insensitive to the condition of the patient there are times however when gallows humor is acceptable in the medical field gala's humor can serve as a psychological compensation showing that it can be necessary to relieve stress and psychologically escape from a demanding environment like a hospital however gala's humor is specifically a backstage language that should not be that doctors should not expose to patients lastly the film shows humor that objectifies patience and dehumanizes the environment for example the film often shows crowds of interns and doctors who don't even bother to find out the names of their patients they are working on to them the patient is no more than just a number in an assembly line furthermore dr mckee states that surgery is a judgment to judge you have to be detached in other words mckee trades his job like a mechanic driven by money and ignores the fact that he's treating a human being who has feelings on the other hand the film patch adams displays a doctor who prioritizes patient's sensitive humor patch explains that a doctor's job is to improve the quality of life and not just delay death research and healthcare services reveals that humor builds trust and communication between medical staff and patients and also when patients have connected with their physician through humor studies prove that their satisfaction with the medical professionals care is raised the film portrays us in that patch adams in some scenarios is the only doctor who can make some patients eat or take their meds patch's humor however is under-appreciated by fellow medical staff to the point that he is kicked out of medical school due to unprofessionalism when he visits the school dean however the dean claimed that his humorous antics had improved the quality of life by patients who didn't complain as much and needed less medications prompting patch has returned to medical school as these incidents point out and patch later explains if you treat a disease you win or lose but if you treat a person you'll win no matter what the outcome in other words when staff can unite with patients for humor it is a recipe for success as shared humor raises the quality of life all around and provides an emotional liberation from disease stress and fear of death overall the point these two films make is that humor as the best medicine is only valid when the humor points to the shared humanity of both staff members and patients in an interview of healthcare workers the most common response is that a medical clown should humanize patients patch acting both a doctor and a clown shifts the patient's staff hierarchy to both in control working as fellow human beings in fact this humor allows patients to distance themselves from their disease and align with their doctor in combat similarly when patch explains the difference between a scientist and a doctor he says the latter treats both the patient and the disease as norman cousins explains the mind and body are a single organism and the treatment of either one should not be undertaken without respect for the totality of greater importance the film the doctor suggests that compassion should precede humor for it to point to the shared humanity of staff and patients when dr mckee becomes a patient himself he discovered his he discovers his own frailty and is shocked by the cold hospital environment which rejects the feelings of patients through impersonal humor mckee realizes that unsympathetic humor can deeply hurt and his transformation from a medical god to just a regular human being begins through his new perspective he resumes his work while personally caring for the feelings of his patients furthermore mckee maintains his wit yet adjusts it to bring himself to the level of patience psychoanalyst carl jung would describe mckee as a wounded healer in other words a person who has experienced injury fear and vulnerability can understand and truly heal others how can doctors have compassion if they've never been patients after mckee's recovery as part of student training he allocates each a disease and requires them to dress in hospital bands and experience the treatment of a suffering patient this experience will help students gain compassion and see their work from a patient perspective and adjust their humor accordingly as they begin their career in medicine finally although humor and medicine seems plausible in most areas this project reveals that if humor does not point to the shared humanity of medical staff and patients it can be irreversibly damaging the use of humor is a clinical skill which takes tact and sensitivity and overall compassion for human fragility to have positive results humor should never take a place of care and concern and understanding vulnerability fear and humiliation should be incorporated into medical training so that compassion can be developed prior to treating patients if medical staff employ humanizing humor in their field patients can receive commercial medical care while humor simultaneously simultaneously improves the quality of their lives due to the pandemic laughter medicine is of particular relevance today since in-person contact is limited laughter ironically is one of the few things that can really draw people together and remind everyone that we are still alive and there still is hope therefore appropriate humor is of utmost importance as the impacts of laughter will felt more cleanly as its communicative powers increase thank you for listening to this presentation i look forward to feedback