The purpose of this study was to examine nursing faculty’s teaching practices about humor in the classroom and clinical facilities. The research questions were: (1) Is humor included in syllabus, readings and curriculum, and (2) Is humor taught to students in the classroom and clinical settings?

An exploratory descriptive design was used to examine nursing faculty teaching practices of humor in classroom and clinical facilities, and whether humor was observed as a therapeutic approach in clinical settings. This international collaborative study included 153 nursing faculty at four nursing programs; two in the Unites States, one in Northern Ireland, and one in Taiwan. A two-part questionnaire was developed by the research team and content validity was verified. Data analysis included descriptive statistics for the quantitative data and content analysis for the qualitative data.

Findings revealed a significant difference between faculty from the cultural perspectives of West and East. Faculty in the West identified the presence of humor in clinical settings and discussed humor with their students but did not report the inclusion of humor theory or concepts in lecture or curriculum. Faculty from the East included humor in the nursing curriculum and lectures but reported little humor presence in the clinical setting.

Results also revealed incongruities in the clinical application of nursing knowledge and lecture material used to teach nursing students. Future research needs to focus on ways to incorporate humor content and knowledge into nursing curriculum in order to provide culturally competent care.