The analysis of the movie Patch Adams: Is humor one of the best medicine?
Patch Adams is a movie that’s based on a real story. It is a couple of man who has skilled many issues in his lifetime, from being institutionalized in a psychiatric ward of a hospital to being a well-respected doctor that heals and calms many people with humor. This movie portrays many aspects of health communication that we now have discussed in this class, and it additionally accurately represents one of the debates at present going down in the well being communication subject.
In this paper I will evaluation past terms and fashions corresponding to: physician-centered communication, collaborative communication, and the biopsychosocial model. These terms might be used to assist show that the information discovered in the film Patch Adams is relevant to the field of well being communication. Then I will try and answer the underlying query of the movie Patch Adams, “Is humor the most effective medicine?”
Since the start of time man has held many different theories on health and what causes illness.
Some extra farfetched than others, but also some which are extra plausible. For instance, the biopsychosocial mannequin still influences many. This model approaches well being as an general encompassing phenomenon. This implies that well being is affected by extra than just physical illnesses. Overall well being is a product of both bodily and emotional
Well being. According to Athena du Pre in her guide, Communicating about Health: Current Issues and Perspectives: “The biopsychosocial perspective takes into account patients’ bodily situations (biology), their ideas and beliefs (psychology), and their social expectations”.
She went on to state, “The biopsychosocial strategy is supported by evidence that people’s ideas and feelings have an influence on their total health”.
Considering this, now take a look at the movie Patch Adams. Hunter Adams, or better often identified as “Patch”, never discovered his notch in life, especially after his father died when he was 9. In his later life, he bounced round from job to job but nothing appeared to feel right. Then, after he tried to commit suicide he found himself in a psychiatric ward dwelling amongst some very special folks. It was there the place he first discovered his true calling in life. In that psychiatric ward “Patch” Adams realized that he was fully compelled by serving to individuals. He liked serving to people through the therapeutic process, and he also realized that along with his playful character, he was very good at it.
He believed that connecting to a patient’s thoughts and feelings had been equally as important as figuring out what was bodily mistaken with them. This vision and his initiative lifted him out of the psychiatric ward and, believe it or not, throughout medical school. Throughout this transformation into a doctor, “Patch” was pressured to dismiss his views and conform to how others thought a medical student/professional is supposed to act. Till the end, Patch devoted himself to serving to patients nonetheless he could. He found that one of the simplest ways for him to communicate with patients was with the use of humor. He would simply make then laugh, and mechanically they might really feel higher.
Now remembering the biopsychosocial model, attempt to examine it with Patch’s view of well being care. As you probably realized, Patch’s imaginative and prescient falls almost immediately in line with this fashions beliefs. Patch and the biopsychosocial mannequin belief that well being is affected by a combination of all elements of life.
In today’s society, there are a lot of medical amenities virtually in each city. Since the first day these doorways have opened, the majority of them have most probably been physician-centered environments. In a physician-centered surroundings the caregiver controls nearly each side of the interplay. As quickly as a affected person walks right into a physician-centered surroundings they start to attend. The physician controls nearly all features of the entire go to. Waiting for the doctor like this nearly implies that the doctor’s time is more essential than the patient’s. “Researchers suggest that docs have traditionally been extra assertive than patients-talking extra, asking more questions, and selecting what matters will be mentioned. Sometimes physicians go as far as to make sufferers feel belittled and helpless. Patients, in turn, are relatively passive and accommodating, no less than whereas they’re with their doctors”(du Pre 53).
While inspecting the interpersonal interactions between medical doctors and patients it’s clear that medical doctors utterly management the talk time. Doctors ask a lot of “yes” or “no” answered questions, not permitting the affected person to precise very much emotional information. This is doubtless certainly one of the ways in which medical doctors, in this type of surroundings, try to stay emotionally indifferent from patients. An example of this can also be found within the film when all the experienced medical doctors solely check with sufferers as their sure illnesses. These docs really feel that names, feelings, hobbies, and so on. are just distractions that get in the finest way of their skilled duties.
In latest times, in the subject of health communication, a shift in beliefs has turn out to be obvious. Many really feel that the physician-centered method is now not the best way to handle the interaction between sufferers and docs. A new collaborative approach has been adopted by many. This collaborative approach is more of a partnership between the patient and doctor. More speaking by the affected person, and extra listening by the doctor. When the doctor and affected person communicate to one one other, they communicate to each other as peers sharing ideas, comments, and ideas. This permits sufferers to confide in their medical doctors and reveal internal ideas and emotions that could possibly be negatively affecting their well being.
A good example of this kind of interaction is transactional communication, during which both communicators are mutually influencing each other. It may be thought of as a transaction of knowledge or an trade. It is right here, in this kind of environment, that communication expertise play a very important role. A physician that lacks communicative skills might need issues interacting with a few of the patients. Interacting builds trust between the physician and affected person, which allows the affected person to feel more relaxed.
Building trust is very important since medical doctors in some cases must prescribe life saving treatments. If the affected person doesn’t trust his or her doctor, they may not belief the doctor’s diagnosis and this could in the end result in the patient not following the docs instructions properly. “Researchers recommend that patients who really feel they’ve been belittled or who’ve been unable to share essential information are less probably than others to follow remedy recommendation. At the same time, doctors who discourage patients from speaking may miss important information”(du Pre 52). So as one can see, communication expertise play an important position in efficient health communication. Many physicians use totally different techniques to get sufferers to confide in them. Of these techniques, one has been studied almost because the beginning of medication itself. “Patch” Adams used this identical tactic to influence his patients. The communication tactic is humor.
In the film Patch Adams, “Patch”, whether he knew it or not, was a believer of the collaborative strategy to well being care. Laughter and humor were utilized by “Patch” to assist the sufferers really feel higher and chill out. The patients trusted Patch and opened up to him, this allowed him to make more accurate diagnoses. Thus, bettering the patient’s scenario, angle, and overall outlook on life all through the use of humor. “The actuality is that many therapists regard humor to be a priceless, productive automobile that has helped their clients progress successfully in dealing with personal, social, and emotional issues. When rapport and trust have been established, humor could also be expected to produce useful outcomes, if used prudently”(Granick 1). Should humor be thought of a medicine? Many feel that it ought to.
Humor and laughter are becoming more and more valued assets in the health care surroundings. They each can be used as efficient tools to cope with stress, due to this fact selling physical health. Not only does humor promote physical well being, however the use of humor also can be a crucial talent for physicians in medical settings. Humor can promote positive relationships and allow sufferers to chill out, really feel motivated, relieve stress, and work towards the objective of a healthy life. Humor can present a method to take care of pressure and to view situations extra optimistically. The capability to have humor gives us perspective when dealing with our issues.
Humor and laughter provide a bodily release from tension and stress. It is well-known that stress has a unfavorable impact on total well being. The connection between stress and high blood pressure, muscle tension, and many other ailments has been identified for years. We know have proof that laughter creates the other effects. It appears to be the right medication for stress. So from this, one may say that humor has a therapeutic impact on the human physique, mind, and soul. Norman Cousins was one of the first to call attention to the medical neighborhood to the potential therapeutic results of humor. He described his use of humor through the treatments he had for a selected ailment. He all the time believed that negative emotions would have a adverse effect on his health, so he then started to carry that the other was also true: that optimistic feelings would have a positive effect. He believed that the expertise of laughter could open him to feeling joy, hope, and confidence again.
Cousins maybe the best recognized for such research, but he was undoubtedly not the primary. As early as the 1300’s, a professor of surgery by the name of Henri de Mondeville wrote, “Let the surgeon take care to control the whole regimen of the patient’s life for pleasure and happiness, allowing his family members and special friends to cheer him, and by having somebody tell him jokes”(Walsh 147). The difference is that we now have studies that prove this to be true. Another pioneer on this field is the well-known Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that laughter performed an important position in psychological health. “Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud was among the many first to attempt a scientific exploration of the nature of humor and laughter and how they may operate in the human character. In his 1905 guide, Wit and its Relation to the Unconscious, he noticed that jokes and comical expressions allow people to defend in opposition to anxieties, fears, anger, and other disturbing emotions”(Granick 2). It amazes me that these guys had been heading in the best direction that many years ago, but they had been. After evaluating all this information it has turn out to be clear to me, and hopefully you, that humor has a definite influence on health. I personally really feel that there might be a direct positive relationship between the amount of laughter and general well being of a person.
In conclusion, I really feel that the movie Patch Adams is a good reflection of present points in the well being communication subject. This film accommodates many related topics and theories that I analyzed and in comparison with models and other points that we have discussed in school. I hope my description and evaluation of this movie gives you an perception to how our medical environment might change within the close to future. Too many physicians separate themselves from their sufferers emotionally. This tends to limit the power of the physician to communicate effectively with their sufferers. Now with the information I gave you, you make your individual determination: Is humor the best medicine? I assume we are going to agree that it might not be one of the best, but I believe that humor actually can be classified as a medicine.
References
Anderson, P. A., Gill, P. S., Greenfield, S. M., & Loudon, R. F. (1999). Educating medical students for work in culturally diverse societies. Journal of American Medical Association, 282. 875-880.
du Pre’, A. (2000). Communicating about health: Issues and perspectives. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Granick, S. (1995). The therapeutic worth of laughter. USA Today Magazine,124, 1-6.
Walsh, J. (1928). Laughter and health. NY: Appleton.