Humour in Healthcare: What a New Medical Essay Says About Laughter and Patient Care

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has shared a blog post in its Voices series in which a doctor argues that humour has a genuine place in clinical care. The post, written by Dr M. Kittelson, makes the case that in the right context, laughter can make the experience of illness feel less overwhelming and help build trust between a patient and their clinician.

The NEJM’s Voices series publishes personal perspectives from clinicians and researchers. This entry doesn’t claim humour is a treatment — it’s a reflection on communication and the human side of medicine. The argument is that when a patient is frightened, a well-judged moment of lightness can cut through that fear in a way that clinical language alone sometimes can’t.

It’s a small but telling point about bedside manner.

The piece doesn’t set out clinical guidelines or recommend humour as a formal tool. But it does raise a question worth sitting with: how much of good medical care is about what a doctor says, and how much is about how they make a patient feel in the room?

For patients in Kent managing NHS appointments — whether at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, East Kent Hospitals, or a local GP surgery — the research base on patient-clinician communication is well established. The NHS recognises that clear, empathetic communication affects how well patients understand their care and whether they feel able to ask questions.

Anyone with concerns about their health should contact their GP in the first instance, or call NHS 111 for non-emergency advice. In an emergency, call 999.