Humor and Nursing II:
Using Humor to Cope with the Challenges of Nursing
(13.0 Contact Hours)
___________________________________________________________________

 

To successfully complete this course and receive your certificate, you must read the content online, pass the post test with a 70% or better, and complete the online evaluation form.

The price of this course is $65.00. You will only be asked to pay for the course if you decide to grade the post examination to earn a certificate with contact hours.

This activity was developed by Corexcel without support from any commercial interest.

It is Corexcel's policy to ensure fair balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all programming. In compliance with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) we require that faculty disclose all financial relationships with commercial interests over the past 12 months.

No planning committee member has indicated a relevant financial relationship with a commercial interest involved with the content contained in this course.

Corexcel's provider status through ANCC is limited to educational activities. Neither Corexcel nor the ANCC endorse commercial products.

 

 

Learning Objectives

After completion of Humor and Nursing II the participant will be able to:

1. Describe current trends in the "humor-in-hospital" movement.
2. Discuss issues related to the use of humor with patients in healthcare settings.
3. Describe the types of humor-in-hospital programs currently being adopted.
4. Discuss the impact of both humor and non-humor interventions in hospitals on patient outcomes.
5. Discuss the current state of research concerning humor's effectiveness as a tool in coping with stress.
6. Understand how keeping your sense of humor on the job helps you provide quality care to patients - even in the midst of stress.
7. Explain how humor helps cope with stress.
8. Discuss numerous cautions and concerns about the use of humor in healthcare settings.
9. Identify the steps and actions required to begin improving your own humor skills in order to learn to use humor to cope with job stress and provide quality care.

 

 

Course Outline

Part I. The Humor-in-Hospitals Movement

I. Using humor to promote positive doctor/nurse-patient interaction
II. Types of hospital humor programs
III. Impact of programs on patient outcomes
  A. Humor programs
   1. Using humor to promote hope and a positive outlook
  B. Other types of mind-body programs

Part II: Humor and Mental Health: Using Humor to Cope with Stress

I. Experimental research
II. Studies of people who have a good sense of humor
  A. Experimentally-induced stress
  B. Stress in current real-life situations
  C. Studies not considering current level of life stress
  D. A key distinction: positive (adaptive) vs. negative (maladaptive) humor
III. Hospital humor
IV. Using humor to cope with cancer
V. Humor in emergency and disaster situations
VI. How humor helps you cope and boosts the quality of your care
  A. Muscle relaxation
  B. Emotional release
  C. The law of psychological gravity
  D. Increased energy / reduced burnout
  E. Maintenance of perspective
  F. Substitution of a positive mood for a negative one
  G. Increased sense of control
VII. Humor as a source of resilience

Part III: Learning to Use Humor to Cope: A Humor Skills Training Program
Take the sense of humor pre-test before starting the program.

Step 1: Discover the nature of your own unique sense of humor
Step 2: Cultivate a playful attitude and a sense of fun - overcome terminal seriousness
Step 3: Laugh more often and more heartily
Step 4: Practice telling jokes and stories
Step 5: Create your own verbal humor: Begin playing with language
Step 6: Finding humor in everyday life
Step 7: Learning to laugh at yourself
Step 8: Find humor in the midst of stress: Using humor to cope