Black Humour

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That sort of humour that seems completely funny when shared with your colleagues, you know though if an outsider was to hear it they would be completely scandalised/offended

Its happened before when I've worked with palliative patients, this queen song keeps running through my head.

We've had two palliative patients who passed today and I've had to keep giving myself some mental slaps every time I start humming it.

Anyone else find they have a black sense of humour?

Specializes in Hospice / Psych / RNAC.

Where I'm from it's called a "DARK "sense of humor. Usually a dark sense of humor is equated with a dry sense of humor. You know when you think something is just hilarious and no one else is laughing :blink:.

Now all of you with a dry sense of humor, don't crawl all over me, that's just been my experience as of the present.

An innocent comment, a misplaced laugh, repeating something you felt was harmless; all these things at work can turn into a disaster in seconds. It's best to remain professional with staff and patients. That's my take on it; doesn't mean I'm right or wrong.

Why spend so much time squabbling...

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Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

This thread has a completely legible first sentence that is a total spoiler alert to the effect of "If you are not 18 and enjoy black humour do not read further."

I came for the laughs.

Here's one: Said during report on patient who expired on previous shift, "Patient in room 5 was transferred to the ECU" Huh???? (Eternal Care Unit).

And another: A relative owned a funeral home so we could go in when there weren't any services going on. He was showing off the new sound system and playing some "service music". During the course of the demonstration a vaguely familiar quivery-organ version of a popular Beatles song came on. The song? "Yesterday" ......all my troubles seemed so far away. Once we realized what we were hearing my Aunt said with a straight face and very sternly, "Do NOT play that song at my funeral or I'll start cracking up."

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

We used to have a tv channel in our hospital that would play popular music. One night a co worker had this on while bathing her patient who had been shot it was playing "Hit me with your best shot". Once we realized what was playing we changed it and busted a gut laughing. No we were not laughing about him getting shot, we were laughing at the hilariously ironic song playing.

Another time I was walking by the room of a patient who was a post code blue on the floor and that same tv station was playing "End of the road" by Boyz II Men. Once we realized what was playing we laughed and changed the song.

Dark humor gets me through lots of sad things that happened to patients.

Neuro ICU could be a depressing place without my dark twisted humor.

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psych nurse=dark and twisty lol

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

It seems kind of sad that with the title of this thread and the following explanation of black humor, like Maverick said above, that people would even bother to come on to this thread just to tsk-tsk over anyone's funny anecdotes.....AND that said posters of such anecdotes feel they have to apologize and qualify and explain.

If it's going to make you all huffy, why not do like the others have said and pass it by? Like changing the TV channel...easy-peasy! Not everything is to everybody's tastes. And I think most of us are sensible enough not to hee-haw in front of others who wouldn't 'get it'. Certainly not in front of folks going through a sad and stressful situation.

But, even some 'civilians' get the giggles in church or at a funeral or wedding.

A few of us once had to leave a staff meeting because snorting laughter suddenly overcame us. You can't explain something like that to others; you just have to say "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Not professional, no, but most definitely human, in all cases,

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My friend and I were once walking back from lunch to the hospital and some woman in HR wearing heels WIPED OUT right in front of us. I ran to help her and my friend almost peed herself laughing...at the fall, at me helping her, and at herself, appalled that she could not stop laughing.

It happens sometimes.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

I don't think this is 'black humor' exactly, more like 'what were you thinking?'

Driving home after a 3-11 one night, about 3/4 of a mile down the road I saw walking along a guy with his hospital gown neatly tucked in to his bluejeans, wearing a pair of red non-slip socks issued by the hospital, and no coat.

It was a cold February night.

I called hospital security and asked if they were missing a patient; they wondered how an outside caller would know that, but yes, they were searching stairwells, etc. for a patient.

I told them to call the cops to pick him up...he wouldn't be hard to miss!

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Specializes in CVOR, CVICU/CTICU, CCRN-CMC-CSC.
I don't think this is 'black humor' exactly, more like 'what were you thinking?'

Driving home after a 3-11 one night, about 3/4 of a mile down the road I saw walking along a guy with his hospital gown neatly tucked in to his bluejeans, wearing a pair of red non-slip socks issued by the hospital, and no coat.

It was a cold February night.

I called hospital security and asked if they were missing a patient; they wondered how an outside caller would know that, but yes, they were searching stairwells, etc. for a patient.

I told them to call the cops to pick him up...he wouldn't be hard to miss!

One on the nurses I work with in ER has a t-shirt that says "Hi, I'm your nurse today. Now what ing stupid thing did you do?"

To the uptights on the thread: No, she doesn't wear it out in public.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
psych nurse=dark and twisty lol

With what we have to deal with in psych on a daily basis, one can't help but get a little warped themselves :)

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This thread has been reported numerous times by several members.

Please note posts have either been removed or edited.

Would hate to close this thread because it's really good, but if off-topic, personal one-on-one remarks, etc., continue, we'll have no choice.

Please have fun, get educated, see other POV, and have a nice debate. This will be the final warning ...

Thanks.

Sorry. I get a little heated sometimes. My husband is out of town and isn't here to keep my mouth in check. I apologize, because I probably went too far.

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We had a comfort care patient once who passed away, and we were calling the provider to report the death. The nurse said "We've lost so-and-so."

Doc says, "Well, find him!"

The nurse replied "No, doc, he's gone."

"He can't have gotten far in the condition he's in! Call the police and see if they can help find him."

"No doc, he's dead."

"Oh."

It's still a running joke between the nursing staff and the provider!

OMG one of our nurses with years of experience called a provider to come and pronounce a comfort care patient. So when she called she said to the provider "the patient in room X expired" I immediately thought to myself "what the hell is he milk" and had to go to the bathroom to explode....for whatever reason I can't use the word "expire" to explain a dead person - they are not food! LOL

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Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.

I don't know a nurse WITHOUT a terribly twisted sense of humor, or doctors either for that matter. If we didn't crack jokes we'd

scream or cry uncontrollably.

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