Funny and embarrassing stories abound in the healthcare professions. Although most happen to us when we are interns or nursing students or new to a particular location, they can happen at any time… and always when you least expect them.

Many of you have already found the “Stories” button in the menu across the top of this blog. But for those of you who didn’t, the graphic below has a not-so-subtle black arrow pointing to the link.

Anyway, here’s a recent submission. This one comes from “MM”, a med-surg nurse… I call it “Sage Advice to the Legless”:

When I was in nursing school another nursing student and I were giving our first bedbath to a patient that was a bilateral AKA.When we had finished his bath we pulled his sheet up and asked if he’d like his blanket as well. The patient said he didn’t care if we pulled the blanket up or not. My classmate covered him with the blanket saying if you don’t want it you can kick it off.

Got a funny story of your own? Get a free gift…

Got a funny story of your own? Share it. ==> Tell me a funny story and get a free medical humor report <==

The appropriate use of medical humor could (and should) have an important role in medical education and public awareness. And although I do think everyone’s going a little overboard with their worries about H1N1, I applaud the effort of the United States Department of Health and Human Services in soliciting the public’s help in alerting the public on the importance of washing hands. The 2009 Flu Prevention PSA Contest had over 200 entries this month - some funny, some serious.

On September 22nd at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the winner of the H1N1 Public Service Announcement Contest. Congratulations to Dr. Clarke of Baldwin, New York for his winning video H1N1 Rap. You can see his video here:

Dr. Clarke… if you’re reading this… First, great job on the video… Second, some advice… if you make a video for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, then be sure to lose the hand gestures.

The top ten videos from the contest can be found at Flu.gov.

Also, check out Dr. John Clarke’s Health Hop® Music for some pretty awesome CDs for your patients and their families.

Check out the “From the Call Bell” magnet at the GiggleMed medical humor gift store.

Doctors’ handwriting is no laughing matter.

Being a doctor myself, I decided to take healthcare reform into my own hands. Here is step number one… a handwriting course for physicians.

By the way, try to ignore the subliminal messages embedded in this workbook. Those darn administrators and Joint Commissioners always slip stuff in there… don’t they?

Download it here:

Hilarious video… the only thing missing is a catchy trade name.  With a short, simple & catchy trade name Big Pharma make it easy for us (and patients) to remember the trade name, but never the generic (Paracetamoxyfrusebendroneomycin).

I like the fact that Paracetamoxyfrusebendroneomycin can be taken in multiple routes.  I’ve always wondered about some sort of mega-suppository… we could call it the “Protocol Pellet”.  Every discipline and hospital service line could have its own per-rectal bolus of meds - psych, ortho, open heart, CHF, etc.