Examples of Humor by Subject, Time, and Type
| By Subject | |
| Medical condition/treatment/testing | Patient: I went [to the pharmacy] one day, my medication was like $250, and I just about fainted. |
| Doctor: And your liver should be normal. Do you want me to do a liver biopsy just to see? | |
| Patient: So, the first time that I was diagnosed with Graves' disease I lost about 20 pounds and I was eating whatever I wanted. It was like the best weight loss diet ever! | |
| Doctor: You could eat whatever you want and still lose weight, ha-ha | |
| Patient | Doctor: It's well tolerated because, you know, you're just a young kid. |
| Patient: Haha oh yah | |
| Doctor: Well … sort of. Haha, you know you look great. You do! | |
| Patient: Haha. Far from a young kid. Hahaha | |
| It is all who you are talking to as to whether you are a young kid or not. | |
| Doctor: That is good to hear. Some people are of the mentality that they know everything there is to know and do not want to meet with a dietitian. | |
| Patient: Oh, no! I got kids; I have been told repeatedly that I do not know anything! | |
| Third party (not present) | Patient: You know I have to chase my husband off to the doctor every now and then for [skin checks]. |
| Patient: … My kids are so spoiled, they are so dependent on me. My son asked me the other day, ‘Mom where is the fork so that I can eat my dinner!’ Ha ha | |
| Doctor: I ask my wife that! | |
| Physician | Doctor: Blood pressure is 139/75 [elevated] |
| Patient: Oh that must be because of you! Haha because when I used to come in … | |
| Doctor: Oh ha-ha! I am not very intimidating! | |
| General life | Doctor: So, you are taking the medication for the cholesterol and at last fall, you had asked about stopping it due to muscle pains. |
| Patient: Yeah, during the winter there were a few nights that I was having leg cramps, but I thought it was related to surviving the Minnesota winter! | |
| By portion | |
| Introduction | Patient: It's [the video recording] so funny because of YouTube |
| Doctor: Haha. Right. Everything is on YouTube. Ha-ha | |
| Patient: Kids will tape it and they cannot figure out why they get in trouble if they put it on and somebody sees it. | |
| [Both laughing] | |
| Doctor: And that Facebook is worse because feel like ‘Ohhh’ you know and they can comment. | |
| Data gathering | Doctor: Do you test [blood sugars] ever? |
| Patient: Only when I come in here! Ha-ha | |
| Both laugh | |
| Physical exam | Doctor: Well I will have you sit right there and I will listen to you, ok? |
| Patient: You can make me have that [stethoscope] and I'll talk into it. | |
| Both laugh | |
| Doctor: [holding the tuning fork] Are you into music. Watch this! [hits tuning fork so that it starts buzzing] | |
| Counseling | Doctor: This is not like selling encyclopedias. This offer [medication adjustments] stays open after today! |
| Dead end vs continued exchange | |
| Dead end | Patient: I should get my [institution name] medical book out, but it's too darn heavy for me to get out because my ribs are broken. Haha |
| Continued exchange | Doctor: It's well tolerated because, you know, you're just a young kid. |
| Patient: Haha oh yah | |
| Doctor: Well … sort of. Haha, you know you look great. You do! | |
| Patient: Haha. Far from a young kid. Hahaha | |
| It is all who you are talking to as to whether you are a young kid or not. | |