Patch Adams The Film: Importance Of Humour In Treating

Patch Adams is a 1998 true-to-life movie of a Doctor who attempted to cure patients with laughter, based on their natural persona and mixing equal doses of humor and laughter. Hunter “Patch” Adams, played by Robin Williams, discovers the hope of his calling “to help people” after rising from the toughest point of his life. He discovers the best way to heal and help a person who is sick is to first treat the patient as a human being prior to addressing the illness. Determined to provide emotional and spiritual relief as well as medicine, Patch defies the norm of medicine and goofs around for his patients, getting to know them personally. The movie depicts how medical doctors only want to treat the disease or symptoms instead of treating the patient.

Patients are referred to by their bed number or disease. He believes that linking to a patient’s idea and emotions were just as important as curing their illness. In the movie, Patch plays the clown to cheer up little kids who are in the Children’s ward. He is dancing, being playful, and making the children laugh. Overall, want to put a smile on the kid’s faces and he was able to achieve that. I do believe that humor, laughter, and engaging with the patient can help with the “curing process”. In today’s society, there are many medical facilities in the metropolitan area. As a patient walks into a doctor’s office they begin to wait.

In the physician- centered setting. The medical professional controls almost every aspect of the visit. Interactions between doctors and patients mainly consisted of “yes” or “no” questions and not letting the patient show or tell any emotional information. “Effective doctor-patient communication is a central clinical function in building a therapeutic doctor-patient relationship, which is the heart and art of medicine” ( Longnecker 2010). This important in the supply of high-quality healthcare. Many cases of patient dissatisfaction and complaints are due to failure in the doctor-patient relationship. Building trust is really of import because physicians in some cases must request live-saving operations.

Patch Adams was a truster of a collaborative attack on health awareness. He used humor and laughter to help the patients feel better and loosen up. The patients trusted Patch and opened up to him allowing him to make more accurate diagnosis. Thus, improving the patient’s attitude, concerns, and overall mentality of life with the help of laughter and humor. “ Humour can be defined as an external stimulus that helps people to feel happy and to laugh. Psychologists recognize that humour has cognitive, emotional, psychological, behavioral, physiological, and social aspects” ( Parums 2015). Humor and laughter are becoming valued assets in the medical field. They both can be used as effective tools that can help with patient communication. Humor can promote positive relationships and help patients unwind. Not only is it beneficial for the patients but for the medical professionals as well. “In this regard, humour can be a strategy that helps doctors and nurses deal with the stress of caring for patients. Seeing humour in the situation is one of the coping mechanisms that can help physicians to manage stress and prevent burnout. Additionally, having a good sense of humour can lighten up tense situations and lead healthcare employees to foster good relations with one another despite their regular encounter with adverse situations.” ( Razdi 2017).

Having a healthy medical staff can overall create a better experience for the patient. I feel the Patch Adams is a great reflection of the current issues in the medical field. The film contains many relevant subjects and ideas. Too many physicians separate themselves from the patient. This affects the doctor’s ability to get the desired outcome.