{"id":18499,"date":"2020-03-16T19:03:20","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T19:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=18499&post_type=story"},"modified":"2025-04-02T17:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T17:59:14","slug":"laughter-is-the-best-medicine","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/laughter-is-the-best-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Laughter is the Best Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring 2020 | By Angie Lewis\u00a0\u201903<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Blake Lynch \u201914<\/strong> knows first-hand the\u00a0pressures that nurses face.<\/p>\n

They make important decisions that\u00a0can have life or death consequences,\u00a0and help people who often feel \u2014 and\u00a0sometimes act \u2014 their worst. Where\u00a0some might see an opportunity to\u00a0complain, Lynch saw an opportunity\u00a0to provide some comic relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe male onesie [had just] come\u00a0out, and I was like, \u2018Oh my gosh, I have\u00a0to make a scrub onesie!\u2019 \u201d Lynch says.<\/p>\n

That idea became a YouTube\u00a0video, called \u201cScrub Romper,\u201d in\u00a0which he turns a pair of scrubs into a\u00a0men\u2019s romper and dances by a pool.\u00a0He posted it on his Facebook and\u00a0YouTube pages and watched his online\u00a0popularity soar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got messages and comments from\u00a0nurses and nursing students [from] all\u00a0over the world,\u201d Lynch says.<\/p>\n

Today, \u201cNurse Blake\u201d has almost a\u00a0million Facebook followers, more\u00a0than a half million Instagram\u00a0followers and more than 86,000\u00a0YouTube subscribers. Through\u00a0his social platforms, he shares\u00a0light-hearted, self-made videos that\u00a0include everything from \u201cWhat\u00a0Nursing Students Say\u201d to \u201cMedical\u00a0TV Shows Be Like…\u201d.<\/p>\n

[blockquote source=”Blake Lynch \u201914<\/strong>” cite=”” color=”#0a77b2″ css_class=””]\u201cThe turnover rate\u00a0is high in nursing …\u00a0I wanted to develop\u00a0this community\u00a0of nurses that can\u00a0relate to one another\u00a0and laugh.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe turnover rate is high in\u00a0nursing. Burnout is high. So I wanted\u00a0to develop this community of nurses\u00a0that can relate to one another and\u00a0laugh. It\u2019s OK to laugh about our jobs\u00a0and laugh at ourselves,\u201d Lynch says.<\/p>\n

And while other medical\u00a0professionals have received backlash\u00a0for using patients as the butt of their\u00a0jokes on TikTok and other social\u00a0apps, Lynch consciously focuses his\u00a0material around the lives of nurses\u00a0and some of the funny things about\u00a0the profession in general.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that I put out content\u00a0that uplifts nursing in a positive way\u00a0and in one that doesn\u2019t negatively\u00a0affect our profession in how people see\u00a0and treat nurses,\u201d Lynch says.<\/p>\n

Calling Nurse Blake<\/span><\/h2>\n

After participating in countless\u00a0speaking engagements, Lynch decided\u00a0to turn his stories and insights into\u00a0his own personal show. Nurse Blake:\u00a0The Call Light Tour \u2014 complete with\u00a0theatrical sets, lighting and video\u00a0screens \u2014 attracts sold-out crowds\u00a0comprised mostly of nurses and\u00a0nursing students across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my tour, I\u2019m able to be myself\u00a0and have my platform with my peers,\u201d\u00a0he says. \u201cI surprise them because they\u00a0don\u2019t know a lot about me personally,\u00a0and I take them through my whole\u00a0nursing school and nursing journey.\u00a0It\u2019s like a rock concert! They are so\u00a0loud. We\u2019re laughing the whole time,\u00a0and then we\u2019re crying. Then we\u2019re\u00a0laughing again. It\u2019s so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sea-sing the Opportunity<\/span><\/h2>\n

As he\u2019s grown his online community,\u00a0Lynch wanted to do something that\u00a0was beyond Nurse Blake. Having\u00a0attended many conferences over the\u00a0years, he says they\u2019re often not the\u00a0most fun or innovative. So he created\u00a0his own: NurseCon at Sea, a cruise that\u00a0includes nursing continuing education\u00a0courses.<\/p>\n

The first event, NurseCon at Sea\u00a02020, sold out in two minutes. Setting\u00a0sail out of Miami on April 27, the\u00a0conference\u2019s mission is to provide\u00a0fun and engaging experiences where\u00a0nurses and nursing students can come\u00a0together, interact and share ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no sponsors. Everything\u00a0we do is for the nurses,\u201d Lynch says.<\/p>\n

Please note at the time of publishing, the dates for NurseCon at Sea had not been affected due to COVID-19. The event is now rescheduled for April 15 – 19, 2021.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Face of Modern Nursing<\/span><\/h2>\n

As 麻豆原创 celebrates its 40th\u00a0anniversary of nursing excellence,\u00a0the College of Nursing<\/a> celebrates\u00a0the evolution of the nursing industry\u00a0and alumni like Lynch, who are\u00a0influencing positive changes\u00a0within it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the power of the internet\u00a0and social media, a lot more people\u00a0are able to get a glimpse into what\u00a0a nurse\u2019s life is like on the clock and\u00a0off,\u201d Lynch says. \u201cI think we\u2019re getting\u00a0to that point where there are so\u00a0many of us, we [as nurses] have to\u00a0realize that we do have the power to\u00a0create change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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