It’s a shameless plug, but hey, this is my blog…

The fact is, medical humor can be a valuable tool in your hospital Quality Improvement initiatives. This “Got Foley?” medical humor sign reminds staff about the importance of prompt removal of Foley catheters to decrease the likelihood of catheter-associated infection. And it does so in a fun way…

Check it out:

Although there are some great gifts at the GiggleMed store, you’re completely pathetic if if you’re considering these bad boys for Mothers Day or Fathers Day… I want no part of it.

Medical education and humor… funny video where a German physician demonstrates cardiac rhythms through dance.

He’ll probably need to see ortho after those bundle branch blocks. Check it out.

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.

I’m not sure where it started… maybe from a mixture of words like botanicals, herbal, and pharmaceuticals… maybe from those network marketing folks using new words like nutriceuticals. I don’t know.

But lately, I’ve heard way too many health care professionals using words that do not exist, like “diabeticals” and “diureticals”. I expect it from an occasional patient, but not people that work in health care.

Anyway, here’s a comic I made about diureticals…

This is a legitimate scale for stool quality

I take no issue with describing stool quality for medical purposes. I take no issue with graphic representation of those qualities. And, I take no issue with creating a scale for easier communication between doctors, nurses, and other health care providers.

I do, however, take issue with the fact that it reads like a breakfast menu…

Sources:

Lewis SJ, Heaton KW (1997), “Stool form scale as a useful guide to intestinal transit time”, Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 32(9): 920–4, PMID 9299672

“Constipation Management and Nurse Prescribing: The importance of developing a concordant approach” (PDF).

Wikipedia: Bristol Stool Scale

SCOE 10X – The Odor Eliminator – for Types 2 through 6 :)

We made this funny warning label from the service offered by this warning label generator. It’s easy to do… no skills needed… and it’s free. Make a funny medical warning label and send it to us. If we like it, we’ll post it. (No patient identifiers, no copyrighted material, and we can do with it whatsoever we darn well please)