Work in medical fields can be both physically and emotionally draining. Nurses are often subjected to things that most other people don't deal with on a daily basis. This is the reason for the development of nursing humor, which is a special type of humor that is often only understood and appreciated by others in medical or health-related fields.



There are many jokes surrounding the interaction between medical personnel or even nurses and patients. These jokes don't usually contain offensive language; however, they may present the nurse as less compassionate or even unprofessional. Nurses are taught to be kind when dealing with patients and families, but they are human, too. Sharing jokes like this allows physicians or nurses to put a positive light on the negative aspect of their job and cope with patients and situations better.

Medical humor is very unique - it defines medical terms in many different ways. Take for example, a liquid substance known as barium, used in radiology tests. According to certain nurse jokes on the web, the definition of barium can also be defined as the job of an undertaker. Nurses know this humor is beyond the normal experience of a layperson and usually avoid this medical terminology humor so that nobody is offended.

Most nursing websites have a forum thread dedicated especially to funny occurrences, or to nursing humor. This offers an outlet for those jokes that are just too funny not to be shared. Frequently, these jokes are also spread through email or handouts available at nursing stations. There are even a few Internet sites dedicated entirely to nurse humor, and many dedicated to expressions of general medical humor as well.

Nursing humor sometimes is concerning issues that only those in the medical field would understand and fully appreciate. These inside jokes might be about things related to the specific institution where they work. These are usually shared within the field and jokes related to things such as insurance problems or government sponsored health care are shared with family members and friends.

If you have a friend or family member that is a nurse you can probably remember hearing many tales of nursing humor. Most nurses resort to this dry humor to cope with the life and death issues they face daily. Check out a few of the websites that offer this type of humor. Read these bits as if you are nurse and you will have a better understanding of the humor