29.8.09

"Do No Harm" Includes No Joking Around? Humor May Be Used to Reinforce Provider/Patient Hierarchy?

For example, doctors sometimes use humour to comfort patients but also to silence them if, for example, the patient displays too much knowledge of a medical condition.

From: "Humour is an 'act of aggression' - Telegraph"

Study published in the Journal of Pragmatics. Initial reactions reading this piece included:
1. Laughter - they're taking this way too seriously.
2. Head tilting - wait a minute, thinking of how I use humor in business settings in particular...they may be on to something.

Have you used or experienced humor in the medical setting (particularly sarcasm) in such a way that you feel the 'joker' is reasserting dominance? Fascinating thought...

Posted via web from Jen's Posterous

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