Patty Wooten presents ... 
An Interview with
The Nursing Notes
From Journal of Nursing Jocularity, Summer 1997, 7(2), pp 46-47.
Can you imagine your nursing administrator, educator or supervisor bursting into song about some comical moment in nursing? It could happen. In fact it does happen quite often in Syracuse, New York where The Nursing Notes reside. This barbershop quartet is composed ('scuse the pun) of nursing leaders from three hospitals in the Syracuse area. Each of the Notes is also married to a nurse, so I'm sure there is an abundance of gallows humor at their dinner tables. Every year when The Nursing Notes perform for the Journal of Nursing Jocularity conference; the audience laughs until they are exhausted, but they're never too tired to offer a standing ovation. Last year the quartet wrote a parody to the song "On the Cover of The Rolling Stone," wishing their picture could be "On the Cover of the JNJ."
Well guys, in case you haven't noticed yet, your wish has come true, you're on the cover of this [Summer 1997] issue of JNJ. I think our cartoonist Bob Quick, RN has done a wonderful caricature of you. Before we talk with the Nursing Notes, let me introduce them:
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Larry Brennan, RN is Administrative Supervisor at Community General Hospital of Greater Syracuse.
Glen Gardner, RN is Coordinator of Information Management in the Quality Management Department of the Veteran's Medical Center in Syracuse.
Wayne Beach, RN is Assistant Nursing Manager for Ambulatory Care at the VAMC- Syracuse.
And Kerry Grant, RN is the Assistant Chief of Nurses for the VAMC in Canandaigua, NY, about an hour's drive from Syracuse.
The Nursing Notes made their debut at the 1989 New York State Nurses Association convention and for the last seven years they have harmonized fearlessly on topics that are often a source of professional pain: staffing shortages, shift rotation, and health care reform. They write their own songs and music as well as parodies of familiar songs. Their goal is to create "Health and Humor Through Harmony."
Patty: Can each of you share your opinion about the role of humor in nursing leadership?
Glen: Any nurse in a leadership position is kind of like a lightning rod. When people need to discharge their anger and frustration, they usually unload on the manager. I use humor to keep my perspective through all of this, to decompress when I feel overwhelmed with other people's pessimism and negativity.
Larry: After five years as a director of clinical education, I learned that people have a fairly short attention span, and if I don't provide moments of lightheartedness, they don't retain the material. I use humor to keep a balance, letting the playfulness counterbalance some of the unpleasant aspects of what I do.
Wayne: I think humor is essential for any leader. Healthcare reform is forcing us to change our old routines and patterns of care. We can't stop the change. The secret is to not take it personally. That's what humor gives you -- a chance to stand back and laugh at the situation. We don't need to put off having fun until everything settles down. You've got to seize the moment and enjoy it.
Kerry: I think having fun on the job is essential. As a nursing administrator, many times I don't have good news for people. I have to tell them about changes in their job assignments, work schedule or benefit package. Change is threatening and when people feel threatened, they get very serious, very rigid. I try to help people smile and laugh and loosen up. Then people are more likely to "grin and bear it." I use humor to defuse the tension, stimulate cooperation and get the job done.
Patty: In this time of rapid change and restructuring, hospitals are abandoning primary care nursing and returning to team nursing. Bedside clinical nurses are expected to assume leadership responsibilities, to supervise unlicensed personnel and to coordinate the efforts of an entire health care team. From your perspective as nursing leaders who support humor, blended with your experience of singing harmony together as a barbershop quartet, can you offer nurses some advice and encouragement about team building?
