Some people knew what they wanted to be from the very beginning. And just like some people begin to look like their pets, we’ve run into a few doctors and healthcare die-hards who begin to look like their very own area of expertise.

Here’s number 2 in one of the newest medical humor series from GiggleMed.com – a series of doctor jokes and comics related to subspecialties… Doctors of Destiny :)

In the immortal words of Obi Wan Kenobi…

Of course, Old Ben never smoked… and you shouldn’t either.

(Master Yoda on the other hand…. I’m not so sure)

Here’s a link to All of the Doctors of Destiny Comics up ’til now

Some people eat, sleep, and drink medicine… eat, sleep, and drink nursing… eat, sleep, and drink surgery… or whatever their healthcare field is. They seemed to know what they wanted from the very beginning.

And these people can stress you out quite a bit. If you’re about to start your internship and you are still undecided about your future… or if you’re a nurse about to finish your clinicals and enter the work force… these Obi-Wan Kenobi types can be pretty annoying. (Gotta squeeze some Star Wars references in there… how could I not?… destiny?… Star Wars day?… anyway, click the audio and think of Good ‘ol Ben).

It would be nice if we could know who these people were before they even said a word… Introducing a new medical humor series from GiggleMed.com – a series of doctor jokes and comics related to subspecialty… Doctors of Destiny :)

Push it one more time… you know you want to…

You will be as happy as a pig in mud to know up front what this post is NOT going to be… It will not have jokes about BMI or obesity. There will be no mention of police officers… no talk of bringing home the bacon. Even if swine flew, I would have nothing to say about government spending or the fat cats on Wall Street. You can wait until the mad cows come home and there will be no mention of mast cells with heparin… and certainly no talk of an Aporkalypse.

So, here’s my public service announcement: Don’t panic… although the pig is out of the bag, so to speak, have you ever stopped to wonder what would happen if we did a news media play-by-play of the spread of any normal flu season? I bet it would be pretty scary. A play-by-play in sports is exciting… in infectious disease news it’s frightening.

Anyway, I really hesitated to post this swine flu comic in case it does become worse than most of us in healthcare think it will be. The pig had my tongue, but here it goes. I’ve chosen to balance this comic with some serious resources. See the links below the comic. And for crying out loud… Wash your hooves.

Other fun swine flu humor:

• Decorated Mexican Flu Masks
• CONTEST: Name the Swine Flu Cake, Win This Chocolate Pig!
• You’ve Killed Us All – this one cracks me up
• Swine Flu Humor Gifts

On a serious note… here are some reliable H1N1 (formerly “swine flu”) resources:

• CDC Clinician Guidance for Patients
• CDC General Info on H1N1 or Swine Flu
• CDC Reports and Publications
• WHO Influenza A H1N1 Resources

If everyone in hospitals is supposed to use hand gel sanitizer, well then, that means that everyone in the hospital is touching the tops of these things…everyone… Not only that, everyone when their hands are their dirtiest, most soiled, and most infectious. So who washes the top of these bad boys?

The response to our Chart Farts ® collection has not abated… (and we love it, keep it comin’).

This time we take a look at an ultra-important diagnosis from a Core Measures, CMS reimbursement, and readmission rate perspective… and that is congestive heart failure. You would think that with so much attention put to documenting what we do with CHF patients, that there would be very few Chart Farts® associated with it. Actually, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here’s the latest…

Again… our malapropisms all come from real hospital or office charts or are uttered by healthcare professionals or patients. We have thousands and each day that list is growing thanks to the sheer number of fans out there, like you, who send them in by email, fax, and even paging me directly.

The response to our Chart Farts ® collection continues to be overwhelming… Tons of funny submissions, words of appreciation, and even a question or two from a rare disbeliever.

All of our Chart Farts® are original and all are actual malapropisms found in charts, uttered by healthcare professionals, or said by patients. Chart Fart Art ™ is simply one of these funny malapropisms put to comics. We have chosen some of our favorite chart bloopers from our Chart Farts ® collection and made corresponding healthcare funnies.

Here’s the latest…

… watching diarrhea is probably better than watching paint dry… well… if you’re into that sort of thing. (not that there’s anything wrong with that)

The power of gloves is a curious thing
Make one doc safe, and another nurse clean
Reduces risk from things you didn’t think of
More than policy, that’s the power of gloves

You don’t want MRSA, or C.diff
Don’t want fluids or a really big whiff
Takes time to wear ‘em. It’s annoying sometimes
But it might just save your life
That’s the power of gloves
That’s the power of gloves

(full audio coming soon… tons of medical humor songs)

OK. Because we’ve received such an overwhelming response to our Chart Farts ® collection, we’ve decided to put some of the actual malapropisms in pictures – Chart Fart Art ™. We have chosen some of our favorite chart bloopers from our Chart Farts ® collection and made corresponding comics.

In all cases of Chart Fart Art ™, the quotes come from real medical charts or from patients. The picture or cartoon was made to accompany that quote.

Here’s the first of hundreds…

This short, one-minute long, funny video parodies that internal competitive streak found among all of the healthcare professions. Doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, OR techs, house staff, and EMTs all have this phenomenon of “one-upmanship” when telling stories. Whether it is telling funny stories or recounting the events of a code or bragging about accomplishments, there’s always someone with something a little funnier, a little more disgusting, or a little more alarming. Check out this comical video:

Lots of people are facing hard financial times. And while everyone is reporting depressing news of layoffs and bankruptcies, I wanted to touch on some news that’s a little more practical (and funny). If you work in a hospital – nurses, techs, doctors, interns, administrators, NPs, PAs, etc – you should be aware of these “9 Signs that the Hospital is in Financial Trouble“. If you see anyone of these bad boys going on at your workplace, start looking for another job.

• Rent-a-catheter program
• The nurse and the physician ask for their portion of the bill each day.
• Discount on surgery in exchange for semi-permanent tattoo – “Like my CABG? Call 1-800-
• We-Cath1″
• When patients bring medicines to the hospital, the pills are collected, counted, and added to the hospital formulary.
• The 64-slice CT scanner is operated by a technician and Vinny, the “billing supervisor”.
• Triage includes collecting your bank routing number in addition to your insurance information.
• Napkins provided with your meals have logos of various local fast food places.
• Passing by the cafeteria, you note that they are washing the plastic utensils and styrofoam cups.
• Patient lunches are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies.

Got some of your own signs to add to this funny list? Post a comment below (no patient identifiers, no copyrighted material, and we can do with it whatever we want). Or, just let us know your favorite. Post a comment now.