The gastroenterologists had a gut feeling about it . . . Humour in healthcare is a tricky one to get right – but can benefit patients Mon, May 3, 2021, 06:01 Dr Muiris Houston In one study carried out in primary care, patients appreciated spontaneous humour from their doctors. Photograph: iStock
It being a bank holiday weekend, by tradition this column explores the lighter side of medicine. And what better topic for today than to look at the use of humour in health care? Doctors and nurses crack jokes and tease one another, just like people in any walk of life. We use humour with patients to lighten the mood, or simply to show we are human. But before we explore humour in medicine, a joke is in order: