In this week’s episode, Cara is joined by a nurse comedian, Joscel James RN, CPR LOL HYFR, to explore the healing power of laughter in healthcare. They dive into fascinating research showing that just 15 minutes of comedy can melt away stress and even give your immune system a boost—proving that laughter really is medicine. The conversation highlights how nurse comedians skillfully use self-deprecating humor and “punching up” jokes to create a safe, supportive space for their colleagues, never at the expense of patients. You’ll hear how nurses navigate the delicate balance of humor in clinical settings, sometimes leaving themselves reminders to ensure laughter uplifts rather than hurts. The episode also peels back the curtain on the creative process, revealing how fleeting ideas are captured and shaped into powerful, relatable comedy.
Episode Overview
Joscel James is a former ER/ICU nurse who walked away from a lucrative healthcare career to help burned-out professionals find clarity and purpose. He's built a following of 80,000+ through his brutally honest, darkly humorous content about burnout and reinvention. Now a content creator and speaker, he helps high-achievers escape toxic work cultures and step into lives that actually fulfill them.
Episode Transcript
Joscel James (00:29.134)
So Foley artists, think when I went to Universal Studios, I remember going to a set where they said, you make the sounds, right? Like when people are running, you go tuk tuk tuk tuk on something. Not to be confused with, it looks like you're a nurse as well, not to be confused with what a Foley is in the healthcare world. Very, very different.
Cara Lunsford, RN (00:41.17)
Yes, yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (00:45.778)
Yes. Right. So you can you can only imagine when we were first dating and I was like, you're you're a Foley artist.
So what exactly do you do with folies? Like, is this like a Jackson Pollock kind of thing? Like where you're, you know, flinging, you dip it, you dip it in some paint and you fling it against a canvas. Wouldn't that be awesome?
Joscel James (01:05.421)
man.
Joscel James (01:10.658)
Yeah.
Yeah, that's probably what they do to get some sounds sometimes. Right?
Cara Lunsford, RN (01:19.988)
Yeah, right. I know. She's like, hey, could you bring home a Foley from work so that I can make some sounds with it?
Joscel James (01:30.07)
A Foley artist using a Foley. Wow. That's amazing.
Cara Lunsford, RN (01:33.652)
Wouldn't that be awesome? Well, this is already getting off to a great start because this is fun to talk about using using Foley catheters as art. Yeah, why? Why not? Why not get started with that? But I am going to I'm going to introduce you and then you're going to introduce yourself. Jocell James.
Joscel James (01:45.218)
Yeah, definitely.
Joscel James (01:53.934)
Okay. Okay. Okay.
Cara Lunsford, RN (02:01.822)
Thank you for coming to our podcast and thank you for taking time this morning to be on the nurse.podcast. I know that you were part of our National Nurses Week. That was so awesome. I remember you talking to Kat Golden on our Nurses Week event and that was so fun.
Joscel James (02:28.17)
huh. Yeah, it was so much fun.
Cara Lunsford, RN (02:30.969)
So fun, right? I don't know.
Joscel James (02:32.769)
And thank you for having me here today. I'm so excited to be here. So excited.
Cara Lunsford, RN (02:36.256)
I'm so glad. I'm so glad. OK, so Josel, very quickly, and it doesn't have to be quickly. We're here for an hour. But but tell us a little bit just about yourself, like as you know, as a nurse, as someone who discovered the funny aspects of life, how you kind of got into this influencing and all of that stuff. I go.
Joscel James (02:44.439)
Yeah.
Joscel James (03:04.299)
Yeah. okay. Sorry. I know. was like, okay, is it now? Is it now? Well, my name is Josel. I have been a nurse for a little over 10 years, which is to me crazy to say. I have background in the ER, ICU, med surge, oncology. I think the wide range of acuities. ER was really my home and I became a travel nurse during COVID and it was great. I loved it. I mean, I didn't love COVID. I loved being a travel nurse because of the adventure.
Cara Lunsford, RN (03:05.651)
And go!
Joscel James (03:34.178)
But what kept me sane during all these years and avoided burnout was a travel assignments just 13 weeks long, three or six months. So every three to six months, I'd kind of get a reset and I'd be in a new environment. And I wouldn't even be thinking about, I'm burned out from nursing. But then I stopped traveling and then I was like, I'm not a big fan of nursing. And throughout all this, I was documenting, especially in 2020, I was just started making
funny videos just for fun, just because people were posting some stuff online. I was like, maybe I could do this. And people, some people laughed. Some people thought it was funny. And that's how I kind of started making content. I really started from the beginning was I really love psychology and social behavior, but that content for me, was like how to talk to people. That content didn't really take off. And so people really liked my funny content more. So it was kind of listening to the world.
the world was saying, hey, you gotta be funny. So I pursued comedy. I still am pursuing comedy. I don't think you ever really stop pursuing something because it's like a never ending journey. And so, you know, I'm on this journey to try to be funnier, try to make people laugh, try to make people's days better. And that's where I'm at right now.
Cara Lunsford, RN (04:53.49)
I love that. I think it's really interesting because a long time ago, I became aware of Georgie's platform, She Can Be Both, which I loved. And Georgie has since become such a great friend and worked with me in my past business. And she...
Joscel James (05:09.773)
yeah. Yeah.
Joscel James (05:17.953)
Okay.
Cara Lunsford, RN (05:21.288)
really, I think, open to people's eyes to the fact that not just she can be both, but nurses can be both, right? That we are not just one thing. We're not the sum of this. This is not our identity, right? This is our profession. And some would even say maybe it feels like they're calling, you know? Maybe that is how they identify with it.
Joscel James (05:34.05)
Yes. Yeah.
100%.
Cara Lunsford, RN (05:49.94)
and that they're passionate about it. And I think that's amazing. For me, I'm passionate about connecting with people and connecting people. That's what I love doing. I love, I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to humanity. And that's how I feel.
Joscel James (06:10.06)
Nice. I could tell. It comes off. It comes off a little bit. I could tell.
Cara Lunsford, RN (06:15.71)
Thank you, thank you. Well, it's true. I think I truly believe that people are doing the best they can, that they're always working towards being the best version of themselves, or they're trying to be the best version of themselves. And so I think it's amazing that...
you have found something that like lights you up inside and lights other people up inside, right?
Joscel James (06:43.342)
Definitely.
Yeah, well I'd hope so. Some people, some people, right?
Cara Lunsford, RN (06:48.914)
Yeah. Yeah, you're not going to get everybody, right? Like everyone's not going to be the audience or your audience, but that doesn't matter. Right.
Joscel James (06:57.324)
Right. Right. It's like music. Yeah, it's like music. That's what I've likened to. Some people like country, some people like rap, some people like electronic, all these.
Cara Lunsford, RN (07:09.768)
What do you think your style? So what is, so who are some of your favorite comedians? Who do you love?
Joscel James (07:09.88)
It's really different for everybody.
Joscel James (07:16.822)
My favorite comedians. I love Kevin Hart, Mark Normand, Jack Black, Adam Sandler. I like to name some of my favorite actors slash comedians.
Cara Lunsford, RN (07:29.076)
Okay, little funny side note, I know Jack Black. In fact, Jack, yes, in fact, Jack and his wife Tanya hosted my baby shower. My baby shower was at their house.
Joscel James (07:36.905)
I'm ready.
Joscel James (07:41.079)
No way.
Joscel James (07:47.55)
What?
Joscel James (07:51.512)
That's so cool!
Cara Lunsford, RN (07:53.044)
True story, true story. He's walking around. It's hot. It was like July and we didn't tell anybody. We didn't tell anyone where it was. We just gave them an address, told them where to show up because we didn't want it to be that. You know, that's not what it was about, right? So.
Joscel James (08:04.513)
Right. Yeah.
Joscel James (08:12.065)
Yeah, you don't want to announce it as that. Makes sense.
Cara Lunsford, RN (08:14.812)
Yeah. And so people showed up, right? People just showed up and here's Jack walking around. It's hot. He's handing out water and stuff. And he's like, make sure you stay hydrated. he's wearing his like, he has like this shirt that I just absolutely love. It's got like a lion on it and it's like really big and baggy. He's got like some crazy shoes on.
Joscel James (08:38.573)
Yeah, I bet it sounds like him.
Cara Lunsford, RN (08:39.324)
And he's just walking around like handing out. And it's so funny because at the end, at the very end of the baby shower, this guy comes up to me. He's a cousin of my son's dad's cousin. And he comes up to me he goes, whose house is this? And I said, it's some friends of ours.
And he goes, but what are their names? And I, I'm like, I see where this is going. And so they said, I said, it's Jack and Tanya. And he, and he turns to his partner and goes, I told you it was Jack Black. I told you this entire time that they was Jack Black. And it was so funny because it wasn't until the very, end. And I'm sure that other people noticed her, but they.
Joscel James (09:23.671)
Ha
Cara Lunsford, RN (09:33.382)
Everybody was so respectful and great and nobody, know, they made it about the baby, which is like what they were supposed to do. What they're supposed to do. But on the other side of that, I will tell you really quickly, he also came to Children's Hospital when I worked at Children's Hospital. And he came and he spent time with one of my patients who was going to be, who was passing away. And he was a huge, huge school of rock fan. And Jack,
Joscel James (09:36.279)
course.
Yeah, which what it's supposed to be, right? That's a wild. That's wild.
Cara Lunsford, RN (10:03.794)
went and spent, I think it must have been an hour or two hours, just with that kid. Then he proceeded to see every child on our floor, every child.
And then he went downstairs and as he went downstairs, everyone stopped him, of course. He stopped and he talked to every single child and family member and parent on the way out. He is one of my favorite, most beautiful people in the world. So I am so glad that he is one of your favorites.
Joscel James (10:35.339)
Yeah, he sounds like a great person. Yeah, Children's Hospital, that's amazing. Yeah, he's definitely one of my favorites. Just the commitment to his characters and the energy he brings forth, I think. I love that. And then you're telling me his human side. Yeah, that's great.
Cara Lunsford, RN (10:37.746)
He is, he is, he is a great person.
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (10:50.408)
Yeah, he's a beautiful man. yeah, he's a beautiful man. His wife is absolutely lovely. So and I've always like, I love that you love Kevin Hart. think there's something about... Do you think it's like drawing on things like he's so vertically challenged?
Joscel James (11:14.554)
you think so? Well, I know he's shorter and they make fun of him for it like the NBA. Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (11:19.41)
he's like, he is, he is really short. I mean.
Joscel James (11:23.037)
Yeah, but I don't know if that's part of his, I don't really think of that when I'm thinking of like his comedy though. But when he's next to Shaq. Do you ever see those photos or videos?
Cara Lunsford, RN (11:30.238)
But I wonder if that like.
I mean, really, I have it, I can only imagine. I can only imagine, because he's like a really like very short stature guy. I'm like, I guess what I'm saying is that like, I wonder if.
Joscel James (11:41.516)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (11:44.69)
Comedy, when you talk about comedy, where do you draw from? Because that's kind of what, is it the things that have been challenging in your life? Was it the fact that he was a shorter individual, especially as a man, and these things that you compensate maybe, and you use them as a tool?
Joscel James (11:50.829)
Joscel James (11:56.077)
Good question.
Joscel James (12:08.877)
Yeah, that's a good question. I was just actually listening to a podcast with Tom Segura. Do you know Tom Segura? He's a comedian. He was on a podcast with Huberman and he was saying because he was always the new guy, he was moving schools a lot. He was always the new guy and he had to find like several times. Every time he went to a school, he had to find a way to make people like him.
Cara Lunsford, RN (12:15.432)
I feel like I know the name. I feel like I know the name.
Joscel James (12:34.413)
And that was how he got into comedy. And for me, I think I'm kind of similar with Kevin Hart being short and that's what he uses sometimes. I'm an only child and I always, and I come from a small family. So I also had to, when I was out in the world, I had to see how do I find myself to fit in, to belong, to get people to like me. And I think that's how my personality came from or turned into being funny.
Cara Lunsford, RN (13:03.108)
Yes, exactly.
leveraging these things that were maybe challenging for you as a child or maybe maybe you it's different or something like for example, oftentimes you think of Catholic families as being really big, big families, right? Like you'll you'll think of them as having lots of children. So I imagine if you came from a Catholic family, but you were an only child, that's a joke.
Joscel James (13:23.243)
Yeah. Right.
Joscel James (13:32.811)
Yeah. Yeah. yeah. I never even thought of that. I never thought of that. For sure. Yeah. 100%.
Cara Lunsford, RN (13:37.66)
Right? somewhere in there, somewhere in there is a joke, right? About being the only child in a Catholic family.
Joscel James (13:45.997)
Yes. I wish I had a pen. I would write that down right now. I don't know why I haven't thought of that before.
Cara Lunsford, RN (13:49.748)
You could be like, I have 500 cousins. And it's just me.
Joscel James (13:57.026)
Yeah. It's wild. Yeah.
You can really find comedy anywhere. And that's what I learned, you know, being a nurse. That's why I think comedy is so relatable in health care and nursing right now, because there's this shared experience that we health care providers slash nurses, especially say nurses, especially because I'm a nurse, that you just can just find funny out of situations. We're talking about the double entendre of Foley like a few minutes ago. That's that was funny.
Cara Lunsford, RN (14:31.304)
Right? That's funny. It's kind of, you know, if I were a standup comedian, right? And I was...
pulling in aspects of my life. And you're talking about dating as a nurse, right? And if I'm like saying, you know, wait, wait till you're a nurse and you start dating a Foley artist. Imagine that first conversation, right? So explain to me how, how do you, how exactly do you use the Foley?
Joscel James (14:53.191)
Ooh. Yeah.
Joscel James (15:02.701)
What is a Foley? Where do you put it? Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (15:06.868)
Where are you putting it and how is that art?
Joscel James (15:10.431)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (15:13.852)
Right? exactly. like you're tying in and you're pulling in. And just like I think anyone can be a healer. Right? And I feel like I have this conversation a lot with people where they say, I'm not a nurse. And I'm like,
Joscel James (15:16.525)
100 % that's funny.
Cara Lunsford, RN (15:33.65)
you're not a nurse, but that doesn't mean that you don't have the ability to heal and to help heal people. And so I think that that's like something that's really interesting if we talk about like laughter, right? Laughter is being a source of medicine.
Joscel James (15:51.16)
Yeah, absolutely. There's been some research done. I was doing this research. Not I wasn't doing a research study. I was looking up a research study and they found that when people watched 15 minutes of stand up or 15 minutes of something else funny, their cortisol goes down. Their stress levels goes down by I think 30 percent was what I read in this one study. And literally, laughter is medicine has become such a cliche, but
Cara Lunsford, RN (15:53.469)
Right?
Joscel James (16:20.501)
Literally, it does release chemicals in our body that helps fight diseases like our immune system goes up, our cortisol goes down, and it releases endorphins, which is the feel-good chemical. Yeah and I think scientifically, that's why people love laughing.
Cara Lunsford, RN (16:31.699)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (16:36.372)
Yeah. And when you think about the type of comedy, right, that you do, do you feel like...
Do you feel like you're more kind of dark humor? I mean, I imagine that there's always that like morose kind of gallows humor as they call it in healthcare where.
Joscel James (17:05.613)
Sorry, you lost me on that word, gallows?
Cara Lunsford, RN (17:08.83)
Gallows, yeah, gallows humor, you know, like the gallows, the gallows is like where people, you know, were hung. Like the gallows, or, or it's dark, right? Like it's, but it's called gallows humor. And, and that is, is something that we tend to.
Joscel James (17:17.677)
that's dark.
Yeah. Okay.
Cara Lunsford, RN (17:33.99)
I think lean on a little bit in healthcare where it can be a little darker, right? That the general population maybe doesn't like get the inside joke.
Joscel James (17:36.033)
Yes, absolutely dark, super dark.
Joscel James (17:46.092)
Yeah, they don't get the inside joke and they find that all we do is complain. If from the outside looking in, which I totally get because a lot of sometimes my memes or humor, my one-liners, it's about, nursing sucks. Being in the hospital sucks. Working 12 hours sucks. And of course there'd be jokes in there, but like you said, it's a lot of gallows humor where it's just like, my God, I just want it to end. I want this shift to end.
Cara Lunsford, RN (17:52.585)
Mm-hmm.
Joscel James (18:14.289)
but I, I try to stay away from that, but that's so relatable. And that typically hits because we all have that shared suffering. I would say that's part of my humor. I have a storytelling humor. use what else to use? I use a lot of things, but for nursing, yeah, I resort back to that dark humor. Sometimes, I joke about me growing up as the only child, me being Filipino, because of the Filipino stereotype.
Cara Lunsford, RN (18:23.475)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (18:42.001)
Yeah.
So like a little like self-deprecating. So you use a little bit of like self-deprecating. Me too. If I'm not even trying to be funny, but I'm, I guess being funny, it's generally because I'm being a little self-deprecating.
Joscel James (18:44.833)
people like that. Yes.
Joscel James (18:58.251)
Yeah, it's safe. It's safe to right because you're not well. Yeah, you're not making fun of other people. You're not bringing other people down. And some people don't understand that because, you know, people are like, I'm the worst person in the world. Like, that's not funny. Right. But if you you use it in like, man, I, know, I can't think of one right now. But if you have a self-deprecating joke, if that hits just right, it's funny.
Cara Lunsford, RN (19:00.882)
right?
Cara Lunsford, RN (19:23.996)
Right, because I think that there's something, like you said, safe, right, about, if I make fun of myself first, A, it's not gonna hurt so bad if you make fun of me, because I've already done it, right? Like I've already made fun of myself. And so it's almost like getting in front of any kind of,
Joscel James (19:36.119)
Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (19:53.49)
I don't know what I want to say, just judgment or criticism. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And then maybe people feel like they can laugh at themselves, right? Giving permission for people to laugh at themselves, which I think is a good thing. Don't take yourself so seriously.
Joscel James (19:56.098)
Yeah, you're opening the space to be vulnerable. Yep.
Joscel James (20:06.38)
Yes.
Joscel James (20:09.911)
Yes. Yes.
Joscel James (20:16.429)
Absolutely. think it's powerful. A lot of people go into these comedy clubs, myself included, to watch stand up kind of as a relief because the stand up comedian will say the quiet part out loud. They'll say what people are thinking, but feel like they can't say in a professional setting, in a personal setting for whatever reason, social stigma, social taboo. So comedians and comedy and jokes do provide that relief for some people.
Cara Lunsford, RN (20:30.406)
huh.
Cara Lunsford, RN (20:45.736)
Yeah. Tell me a little bit about how it is for you with the general public maybe being criticizing.
how nurse comedians maybe talk about how they feel about their job or how they feel about patients. What would you say to people listening who are not nurses, who are not part of the healthcare system? What would you say to them?
Joscel James (21:15.851)
that's a good question. Well, it depends also, it depends also on the particular comedy and comedian and joke that they're referencing because a lot of times, taking a little side note, a lot of times the jokes you see online by healthcare workers, you're making fun of things that I don't make fun of. I personally don't make fun of patients. I make fun of like me talking to patients in that experience, but talking about
know, gallows humor and safety and self-deprecating humor. Another type of humor is punching up. always want to me, you always want to be punching up. You know, you want to make fun of CEOs and billionaires. You don't want to make fun of homeless people. You don't want to make fun of patients. Right. And then that goes into a different territory. Some influencers, comedians, for whatever reason, they're okay with making fun of patients. And that's that's on them. But to me, that's territory. don't.
Cara Lunsford, RN (21:58.334)
Right.
Joscel James (22:13.303)
delve into personally, because it just becomes like, it just feels weird for me. But what I would tell the general public or whoever's listening and who's probably getting the ick or being like, Hey, why are nurses making fun of their profession? I would just say probably the same thing you and I have been talking about. It's like, provides relief. It provides safety for us as a healthcare community to really process and cope with the emotions that
we go through, especially those still work in the hospital. I don't work in hospital anymore. Those still work in the hospital. They're still boots are on the ground and still going through the struggles. And 2020 was tough for all of us, but definitely especially for those of us had to continue going to those those buildings every day. And comedy has been provided that relief.
Cara Lunsford, RN (22:59.934)
Yeah. Yeah, I think.
Yeah, I think when you're trying to make sense of something that is maybe just so tragic or so incredibly, there's that famous line, it's like, if I don't laugh, I'll cry, right? And usually people are referring to that when things are just so hard or so bad or everything's going wrong, right? And you might say to your friend, like, I don't
Joscel James (23:30.818)
Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (23:34.062)
know if I if I don't laugh about it I'm gonna I'm gonna cry like I'm gonna be on the ground and I might be in the fetal position so I got to choose one over the other and the other is not something that is gonna be helpful to anyone if I'm in the fetal position so I'm gonna choose this because this is the best way forward
Joscel James (23:40.62)
Yeah.
Joscel James (23:49.878)
Yeah.
Yeah. Correct. Yes.
Yes. And it helps you too when you hear other people joke about the current situation. Like I worked in the ER for a good while and people said some dark jokes, funny jokes, but they were dark. And I think you can't even say those in public, but that's that's how we cope because the ER we're we're showing the extremes of health care. We see newborns, you know, right, popping out of the lobby. And then we see car accidents probably sometimes within the same
Cara Lunsford, RN (24:26.228)
Mm-hmm.
Joscel James (24:28.396)
30 minute period and it becomes a lot to process emotionally. And that's where you kind of, that's where you crack those jokes with your coworkers to help your coworkers, not only to help yourself to kind of boost the morale of everyone around you.
Cara Lunsford, RN (24:30.196)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (24:43.602)
And you have to release that. you imagine, and what I would probably say to people listening who are not in the healthcare profession is like, imagine just like a volcano, the pressure just building and building and building, right?
You know, you there's a need to release the energy. Okay. And if we just talk about it as energy, right, some people release that energy in anger, right? Screaming at people, yelling at people, punching something. It's a release of anger, right? Release of energy. Or they can release that energy in the form of laughter.
Joscel James (25:05.398)
Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (25:30.46)
Right? Doubled over laughing so hard that they're crying. And honestly, all that is, is a release of energy. That build up has to go somewhere. Right? Has to go somewhere. Or it can come out in the form of sobbing, right? Like, so it doesn't, you can be extremely happy, or you can be extremely angry, or you can be extremely sad. And you could just, again, be
Joscel James (25:31.958)
Definitely.
Joscel James (25:40.726)
Yes.
It has to. Absolutely.
Joscel James (25:52.906)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (25:59.504)
in the fetal position crying and sobbing.
Joscel James (26:01.46)
Yeah. And sometimes we do need that fetal position moment. I've broken down several times in the ER.
Cara Lunsford, RN (26:06.612)
Yeah, but you can't do it at work, but it's hard to do it at work because you got to go back to work.
Joscel James (26:10.152)
It's hard to do it at work and you can't do it for 12 hours straight. If you need to take your moments, take your moments, get your cry out, feel your anger, feel your feelings definitely. But there is definitely, feel like, and I think it's unfair to put on us healthcare workers, there is an expectation to kind of just suck it up. Suck it up and keep going. patient expired.
Cara Lunsford, RN (26:14.834)
No, you can't.
Cara Lunsford, RN (26:21.598)
Yeah. Yep.
Joscel James (26:37.792)
Here's a new one, here's a new one, not even five minutes. It's like, my God, what?
Cara Lunsford, RN (26:41.01)
Yeah.
Yeah, it's the ridiculousness, right? Like sometimes things are so ridiculous. And and we are laughing at how ridiculous something is. And I think that's important for patients to understand is that like that sometimes that's what we're laughing at. We're just going like, I can't I can't. If I told someone that this happened, they wouldn't believe me. Like this is so utterly ridiculous. Absurd.
Joscel James (26:47.03)
Yes.
Joscel James (26:55.595)
Yes.
Joscel James (27:10.418)
absurd Yeah
Cara Lunsford, RN (27:13.736)
that we have to laugh, you just have to laugh at it. And so I think that that also helps people a little bit to understand that, know, we're not laughing at you.
Joscel James (27:17.642)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (27:30.834)
A lot of times we're laughing at the situation and that's a constellation of things going on. You might be kind of at the center of it, but maybe what you don't see is the 500 things that are going on around you that makes the entire thing absurd.
Joscel James (27:34.218)
Yes.
Joscel James (27:45.953)
Yes.
Yes, a lot, a lot of key points. Yeah. The hundred 500 things going on around, they just see us laughing at the nursing station and they think it's about them. And I, and I get it when you're in those patient rooms, it's kind of like a little, you know, jail cell and you, you're stuck there. And then you hear people laughing outside while you've been waiting for the doctor for four hours. Like, are they just having fun? Yeah, exactly. It's like they're having fun out there, but I mean, I'm a big.
Cara Lunsford, RN (28:10.516)
Yeah, it's not funny to you. Yeah.
Joscel James (28:17.3)
I'm in this situation, I'm big pro nursing station. Like we're out here in the trenches trying our best to make it through. And I like what you said about the laughing at the situation, laughing at the absurdity and healthcare is so ridiculous sometimes. What specialty did you work in?
Cara Lunsford, RN (28:25.768)
Yep.
Cara Lunsford, RN (28:37.404)
I worked in pediatric oncology. That's a funny profession, right? Like that's nothing more funny than... Yeah, I know. It's really heavy. And definitely I've had those moments where...
Joscel James (28:39.638)
Pediatric oncology, wow.
Wow, that's heavy. That's heavy. Right.
Cara Lunsford, RN (28:55.506)
You know, we're laughing at something at the nurse's station. And obviously we have to be very sensitive. If we have like a, if there's a family that's like going through something really, we're, there's a self-awareness, you know, we're, we still have to be self-aware, okay? We're not out of touch, right? And not to say that it never slips or we don't for a second have a moment or a lapse of awareness.
Joscel James (29:03.372)
for sure.
Joscel James (29:11.19)
There has to be.
for sure.
Cara Lunsford, RN (29:25.43)
in us. But I would say that we're pretty good about like coming back and centering and going, God, remember, like that family's in there, like, we got to, like, kind of be quiet. And sometimes, like, we'll even write notes, and we'll put things on doors that like, to remind ourselves and others that we need some quiet and some serenity, and some sensitivity, right? Yeah.
Joscel James (29:32.704)
Yeah. Be mindful.
Joscel James (29:46.006)
Sensitivity, serenity, I like that for sure.
I was, I was looking at this other research study about when we laugh and sometimes it's not, it's not voluntary, right? Sometimes we just laugh at the situation that's happening and we don't do it on purpose and we don't find, sometimes we find things funny, but we can't help it. And it comes from, you're talking about absurd and ridiculous situations. It comes from when our brain has this expectation.
and then something totally different happens. that in comedy, sometimes there's setups and then there's punch lines. And in healthcare, sometimes something totally extreme and out of left field would happen and all you could do is laugh. You're like, my God, I can't believe that happened. And you're not like, you're like, my God, I can't believe I just laughed at that. But it's like your body's natural response to release that incongruity.
Cara Lunsford, RN (30:50.546)
Yeah, yeah. You know, it's interesting. I was just in a nurse writing group and it was amazing. And at one point, one of the nurses who was in our writing group...
The stuff she would write was just hilarious. I don't even think she knew it was hilarious. We were like, my gosh. And when she read it, her timing was great. The sound of her voice was great. We loved it so much. But she actually got super self-conscious at one point about, think, god, how is this going to be perceived?
even kind of wanted to go back and edit some of her writing and and we were all like no don't edit it it's perfect it's perfect like it is and please please we were so like attached to her writing because it was so funny and it was so authentic and raw and real and all of these things and
Joscel James (31:40.458)
Yeah. Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (31:58.928)
at some point we were kind of challenged with, you know, well, do you want to write something that you think is funny? And I immediately was like, God,
this could be really hard. I don't know, like I'm already not super comfortable with writing and now I have to write something that other people are gonna think is funny. And I ended up writing about a story of when I came to work and as I was coming to work, walking onto the floor, there was a family and the mom was standing outside the room.
And we had had some kind of issues with this family member. And I think that there was maybe some mental health issues there. like, on and immediately she was like, I need you to heat up this lasagna for me.
And I was getting ready to like go in to get report. I'm like, I'm gonna put this in the microwave. Like this is gonna be, where am I gonna go and then get it and bring it back to her? Like it's maybe 30 minutes between now and then. And I ended up, so at the end, like the whole punchline to the story is that I, mid report, I see her standing there waiting for this lasagna. I go in, I get it, I bring it back to her and.
She says, it's cold and she threw it at me. She threw the lasagna and I was like.
Joscel James (33:38.59)
No way!
Cara Lunsford, RN (33:38.844)
And yeah, yeah, she threw it at me. But at the end of my story, I say, in hindsight, I probably should have saved some of those bits for later. Like, you know, because you never know when you're gonna need a midnight snack. You know, like I should have saved some of that lasagna that was in my pockets. Yeah.
Joscel James (34:00.894)
Yeah, was that the last line? That's funny. That's so funny. That's good.
Cara Lunsford, RN (34:05.192)
That was the last line of my story. was like in hindsight, you never know as a nurse, you never know when you're going to get a break or a snack. I should have saved some of that lasagna for later.
Joscel James (34:17.964)
Yeah, no, that's good because you would think like you saw my reaction. That was wild that someone threw it at you, but you took it that misdirection that incongruity. Yeah, you turn it into something like, oh, you wouldn't really think about eating it because you just got it thrown at you. You should be furious, but you're hungry. You're a hungry nurse. That's funny. That's that is comedy for sure. I love that.
Cara Lunsford, RN (34:27.894)
Right, you turn it.
Cara Lunsford, RN (34:35.891)
Right?
Your Hungry Nurse, it's like, we leave nothing left, you know, like we're not going to leave something that we could carry around with us in our pockets potentially, including lasagna. So I did. I wrote it down and I called it Lasagna Shift was the name of my,
Joscel James (34:47.584)
Yeah, yeah, that's so good. Yeah. You wrote that. I'm glad you wrote that. That's amazing. Thank you for sharing that story. That's good.
Joscel James (35:01.97)
lasagna shift. That sounds appropriate.
Cara Lunsford, RN (35:03.132)
lasagna shift was the name of my my my writing. And I made some. So it is it's like it is it is like a sport. So anyway, but I will we can talk more about it at some point, but like we are going to actually do.
Joscel James (35:08.3)
You're in the writer support group? Writing group? That sounds interesting.
Joscel James (35:18.742)
Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (35:22.482)
With nurse.com, we're gonna do a writing group. We're producing a writing ebook, so with prompts and things that nurses can download and get started on a writing journey. And maybe you wanna join us. We'll do a writing workshop.
Joscel James (35:30.987)
Nice.
Joscel James (35:36.332)
Yes. Love that. Definitely interested. I've been trying to be better with, it all boils down to writing, I feel like. And I've been ignoring that fact, I think for the last six years. And so most recently I've just been trying to write more because scripts turn into videos, turn into reels, turn into YouTube videos, turn into standup sets, and it all starts from writing. So I've just been trying to write better. So when you tell me about a writing group,
Cara Lunsford, RN (36:01.875)
Mm-hmm.
Joscel James (36:06.378)
That sounds awesome. How long have you been doing that?
Cara Lunsford, RN (36:07.698)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll invite you to our writing group and maybe we can even have a writing session that's just about comedy and writing things that are funny. Because when you write, do you write your jokes or do they just kind of come to you? What's your process?
Joscel James (36:32.747)
Oh yeah, I write jokes. My process is, I don't have one streamlined process and I don't think anyone does, but I do a lot of free writes. If I know I have to write something new, I set a timer for 10 minutes, ideally 20, but you know how it's hard to sit down for 20 minutes nowadays. So I would set a timer for 10 to 20 minutes and I would just write whatever's on my mind. And I would actually,
If possible, if not a time crunch, I would take that and store it away. That way I can look back later when I'm in a different mindset, because when you're just free writing, you get into flow. don't know if you've ever experienced this. You're just writing and you're like, it's this experience that's really hard to describe in words. But when you do a brain dump, you're kind of a little bit in flow and 99 % of what you write, especially when you're trying to write jokes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (37:18.984)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Joscel James (37:33.516)
99 % of what you write doesn't, is not going to be good. But then you see, you see a 1 % nugget and this happens a lot when you're reviewing past notes, you're like, my God, this line is funny. This lasagna line is funny. Let me go put it away somewhere in a little note. And I accumulate little notes like that. I also, if something's funny, like when you, I already forgot it. I should have, I don't have paper around me. You told me something I was like, I need to write that down.
When I have moments like that, I write it down. Because those are not to get all woo woo, but those are like gifts from the universe. When you get sudden...
Cara Lunsford, RN (38:12.018)
No, that's not woo woo. well, actually, I mean, some people will say that's woo woo. But like, my middle name is like woo. I'm literally like, I put like the woo in the woo woo. Like, so you put the second woo, I'll be a woo and you be a woo. Perfect. So yeah, so I mean, it's it. My wife's a songwriter. Okay.
Joscel James (38:17.45)
Right.
Okay.
okay. Nice. I put the second woo. We both, yeah. Okay, yeah, that works out.
Joscel James (38:39.471)
nice.
Cara Lunsford, RN (38:39.942)
And she will say that some of the best songs she's ever written were channeled. Literally just they come in and she, to the point where she has questioned like, has this already been written? Was this like, is this a song that's already been written? Did I hear this somewhere?
Joscel James (38:46.857)
Yes. Yes.
Joscel James (39:01.909)
Right.
Cara Lunsford, RN (39:02.58)
because it's literally just almost dropping in through her and onto a page. So that's what I think you're kind of communicating.
Joscel James (39:10.823)
Yep, absolutely. Sometimes it's just like, can't believe this is coming out. And sometimes that one per, you know, I tell you only that 1 % is good, but sometimes you'll get like paragraphs. You're like, wow, I don't know who wrote this, but it's funny. Or it's sometimes not even funny. It's just like, I don't know who wrote this, but it's remarkable or it's insightful and something I can use later. But yeah, I...
Cara Lunsford, RN (39:24.873)
Yep.
Cara Lunsford, RN (39:30.312)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Joscel James (39:36.884)
I definitely think creativity is a muscle that needs to be, if you don't use it, you lose it. And putting myself in those situations in that just state of receivership from the universe to be able to be like, okay, that's a little tidbit. Let me write this down for future use. And then later when I have enough tidbits written in a note somewhere, that's why it's important to be organized in some way. Everyone's organization is different, but you need to find a place, whether it's a notebook.
digital notes for all your thoughts, your ideas, your morning pages, and just these little tidbits to be in one secure place that you can go back to and really reference. Because a lot of times we're busy living, right? I'm sure your wife...
Cara Lunsford, RN (40:10.174)
Mm-hmm.
Cara Lunsford, RN (40:20.232)
Yeah, you have to use like audio files or things like that. mean, she oftentimes will say, hey, Siri, set a reminder for blah, blah, blah, or just to have it placed somewhere. My wife totally is ADD.
Joscel James (40:25.354)
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
Joscel James (40:35.808)
Yes.
Cara Lunsford, RN (40:41.938)
but it's also like she's got so much happening in that brain of hers. Like she has so much creativity. She hears music all the time. Like she's just consistently hearing music. So it's hard to focus on other things or remember other things when you have this like soundtrack going in your mind all the time.
Joscel James (40:46.207)
Yeah. Yeah.
Joscel James (41:01.685)
Yeah. Or while you're living life, right? You could be at a dinner, you could be with friends and you're just like, this is happening to me right now. I need to store it away for future use. It's difficult.
Cara Lunsford, RN (41:06.44)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (41:13.14)
Mm-hmm. Yes, absolutely. It is hard. It's really and and because you want to be present and you want to be in the moment so you don't want to be like over here taking notes on a napkin during dinner because you want to be there and present. So there's an there's a balance right to I'm going to I'm going to move over a little bit to
being an influencer, being someone who is now.
So you're you're taking this creativity and you're standing in front of an audience and you're standing in front of like a virtual audience. You know, so that's different than being in a room with people and standing on a stage. Yeah, you might get a heckler or a person who knows like every once in a while, but people are less brave in person.
Joscel James (41:55.618)
yeah.
Joscel James (42:03.935)
Yes.
Joscel James (42:13.195)
Less braves, less braven-
Cara Lunsford, RN (42:14.42)
brave in terms of they're less brave in person when I what I mean by that is like they're less likely to be judgmental or or
Cara Lunsford, RN (42:30.26)
actually say negative things to you in person is what I kind of mean by that. So it's, yeah, right? It's like, we're always braver behind a screen and behind a username. it, the keyboard warriors, right? Then the people that are in the room and they're not as likely to confront you. So how...
Joscel James (42:35.563)
okay. Okay, I could see that.
Joscel James (42:45.725)
and a keyboard. Keyboard warriors.
Joscel James (42:50.357)
course.
Cara Lunsford, RN (42:59.86)
How is that for you? Because I like to be behind a microphone, because honestly, I don't want to deal with it. I don't want to deal with it. So what are your thoughts around that?
Joscel James (43:08.927)
Yeah.
Joscel James (43:17.304)
You want to be behind a microphone like recording like, that's what you're saying.
Cara Lunsford, RN (43:19.376)
I like being podcast, like I wanna be, I like being like, I like a level of anonymity. mean, people do recognize me, but like I like a level of anonymity and I don't wanna see a bunch of comments and I don't wanna be tempted to read a bunch of comments, right? I put stuff out and that's it. I might listen to it before it goes out, but that's it, it's done.
Joscel James (43:34.837)
Yeah. yes.
Joscel James (43:46.408)
Well, yeah, when you put yourself out there, especially on social media and even on stage, you are bound to get some critics and some haters. But like we were just talking about these keyboard warriors are so, they have a lot of audacity. And to me, I handle it a little differently. To me, I handle these negative comments as additional content because some of it is so funny.
And you know, some people are just straight up being mean or rude or straight up hateful. just ignore those, but it kind of, comes with a territory. think I read a quote once. mean, you never know who quotes are from nowadays, but someone said, if you're not getting hate, you're, if you're getting hate, you're doing something right on the internet because you're putting yourself out there to such a wide variety of people. You're bound to get hate. And, have some of these comments gotten to me a little bit. They have.
Absolutely, some of them have gotten to me and sometimes my feelings have been hurt. But I think overall, I have to remind myself the amount of people taking back from the beginning, the amount of people that I've helped making them laugh, think far outweighs this one comment. And if I really want to, if you really want to, you could just block any of these negative comments. And I know some people do that. Any, any scent of negativity, automatic block. I don't do that because some people write really funny hate comments.
And I think it becomes great content and stories, but I would say you have to definitely process those with care and not let it get to you. You have to, you have to be careful how, yeah, you have to be careful how, well, letting it in, but letting it also pass so you don't hang onto it. And that's all you're thinking about for two, three days. Then it's destroying you.
Cara Lunsford, RN (45:29.374)
Like let it in.
Cara Lunsford, RN (45:35.251)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (45:41.192)
Yeah, like what it's taking from you. Yeah, for sure. And I can't imagine.
Joscel James (45:43.945)
Exactly.
Cara Lunsford, RN (45:53.256)
to field things like that. I love Jen Hamilton. I love her content. I think she is absolutely incredible. Do you know Jen? What? Right now. Right now. Like, like right this second. Jen is literally, so she's an OB nurse.
Joscel James (46:06.793)
Mm-hmm. I do not know Jen Hamilton. Who is that? Should I look her up right now? Sounds like someone I need to look up. Right, right, right the second.
Jen Hamilton.
Cara Lunsford, RN (46:23.4)
She's out of North Carolina. She is maybe one of the funniest people I have ever watched and listened to. She got recently, in the past I felt like she never talked about...
Joscel James (46:25.355)
huh.
Joscel James (46:33.77)
wow, I've never seen her before.
Cara Lunsford, RN (46:49.254)
I never really found that she talked about anything that people would see as controversial, right? Or that would even seem political or on the fringe of that. And but recently she has started calling out some things that she finds to be against her own moral and ethical beliefs and specifically around
It could be immigration. could be as a Christian woman, what she believes is Christ-like. And I think she's a very Christ-like person. So she has leaned in on even reading passages from the Bible that say, hey, this is what Jesus.
says about these things, you know, and the amount, I mean, my heart broke for her. I mean, broke for her, but she turned around and what was it? Toxic empathy or something like that? Somebody told her it was something like toxic.
empathy or toxic compassion or toxic something like that and
Joscel James (48:11.445)
Hold on, let me clarify real quick. make sure I followed correctly. So she started saying these Bible passages based on her values and you're saying she got a ton of hate comments. That's what she got, right? Okay, just making sure.
Cara Lunsford, RN (48:24.212)
of hate. Yes, a ton of hate. People just coming back at her and telling her, you know what, I'm here for you to be funny. I didn't ask for that, like basically, and it's like the nerve of you. Like she's not here to be funny. Yes, that's part of her platform. But she's a human being who has thoughts and beliefs and you know, there's the door. There's the exit.
Joscel James (48:35.787)
Mm, that's, yeah.
Yeah.
Joscel James (48:45.845)
Yes.
Joscel James (48:52.895)
Yeah, literally.
Cara Lunsford, RN (48:55.314)
Like if you don't like it, leave. But it's amazing. Keep scrolling, like unfollow whatever it is you have to do, right? And it's, I...
Joscel James (48:58.015)
Keep scrolling.
Cara Lunsford, RN (49:07.742)
can only imagine. I mean, she did turn lemons into lemonade and she raised a bunch of money by creating some merch that had some of the language that people were using like toxic, like toxic, toxic empathy or something like that. I can't remember what it was, but it was like she created merch. She raised a bunch of money and she donated like a like all the money got donated to charities for all.
Joscel James (49:19.445)
that's amazing.
Yeah.
Joscel James (49:35.135)
Yeah, that's amazing.
Cara Lunsford, RN (49:37.768)
So that's like going back to like what you said about like, take that negative comment, turn that lemon into lemonade, and then give that lemonade to the very people that are thirsty.
Joscel James (49:47.563)
Yes. Yeah, you have to. That's what you have to do. You have to take all this negativity and spin it. And I think, you know, going through this theme of comedy and what we're talking about today, you have to take your life experiences, your pains, your experiences, your suffering and struggles, turn that into comic, turn that into stories. And that's what you have to do. have to kind of transmute this experience of life.
Cara Lunsford, RN (49:55.421)
Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (50:12.136)
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm glad I was able to introduce you to Jen. You know, she's a good friend. No, I wish she was good friend. Honestly, I want her to be my best friend. Jen, if you're listening, you know, here's my phone number.
Joscel James (50:20.338)
yeah, I've never heard of her, definitely going to look into her after this for sure. I love that story.
Jen, if you're listening, hop on the podcast with us. We're waiting for you. She has a chicken.
Cara Lunsford, RN (50:33.872)
That's right. Come on in. Bring your chicken. She has chickens. She has, she has chickens and they're called house chickens. She calls them cats actually, but they're actually indoor chickens. And she has diapers, diapers on her chickens. Yeah, she has chicken diapers.
Joscel James (50:42.98)
wow.
House chickens. Wow. the diapers? Is that so she can get the eggs more frequently? my God. Thought that was a way to collect eggs.
Cara Lunsford, RN (50:56.156)
No, no, it's because they shit all over the place. It's because they literally like, because that's what chickens do. Nope, nope, nope. That's just to collect the poop.
Joscel James (51:07.894)
chicken diapers. know, you never, there's just like these whole other worlds I bet that you would never even think of unless you exposed to it. Chicken, like I would never in my life thought I would ever have to think of a chicken diaper.
Cara Lunsford, RN (51:25.524)
I just love that that's that that's where we got to at the end at the end of this podcast. Joe saw what did you take from this and he's like chicken diapers. That's that was what I was left with.
Joscel James (51:30.273)
Ha
Joscel James (51:38.592)
Chicken diapers.
I mean, it's a good thing to be left with or because it'll clean up this poop. So it's a good thing to be left with. It's positive. Yeah, it's positive.
Cara Lunsford, RN (51:54.389)
I mean, everyone, patients should just be walking around in diapers all the time, all the time. Yes, code browns, all of it. Well, I can't, I could talk to you for like two more hours because I, I, I love talking to you. You're so fun. You're so funny. And thank you.
Joscel James (51:58.641)
Yeah, honestly, yeah, honestly, yeah. It would have saved us a lot of flashing in the ER, right? Yeah. Yeah.
Joscel James (52:14.304)
Yeah, same.
Joscel James (52:18.154)
Yes. You too.
Cara Lunsford, RN (52:22.462)
Thank you. Thank you. I love that. Thank you. And I would, I would love to do more stuff with you. And I would, you know, so anyone, okay, you're, you're here. It's at JoCell James, but let's just read that out. Read it out for people. Cause they're going to be like Jo's cell. And that's what they're going to remember from the beginning. So.
Joscel James (52:24.172)
I mean it, I mean it. I wouldn't just say that.
Joscel James (52:47.358)
yeah. Yeah, like Joe has a cell phone, but it's spelled at J-O-S as in Sam, C as in Charlie, E as in Echo, L as in Lima, Jo-cell. My parents combined their names, Jose and Cecilia. Jo-cell. Yeah, and then Jo-cell James, James is my middle name, so Jo-cell James, at Jo-cell James.
Cara Lunsford, RN (53:08.663)
that's nice.
Josel James, at Josel James. I love that.
Joscel James (53:17.869)
I always thought of changing it for ease of other people, but I mean that's my name, know? That's my name.
Cara Lunsford, RN (53:21.62)
No, no, keep it, keep it. There's a joke in there. Maybe it's the parents coming together, blending their names together. Very quick, funny thing, my ex-wife, she was adopted and her adoptive mom, instead of just, you know,
Joscel James (53:26.986)
Yeah. Somewhere, right? Yeah.
Cara Lunsford, RN (53:51.678)
giving her name, her first name as my ex-wife's middle name, decided that she was going to make it all one name and she named her Tracy Ellen. But she spelled it T-R-A-C-I-E-L-L-E-N, Tracy Ellen. But when we would get robo calls at the house, they would be like, calling for Trash Lynn, Trash Lynn, please answer the phone.
Joscel James (54:01.484)
Joscel James (54:07.564)
Uh-huh.
Joscel James (54:13.302)
can imagine.
Joscel James (54:20.754)
Yeah, those Roblox collars.
Cara Lunsford, RN (54:22.47)
And I could not pronounce Tracy Ellen. she, so the joke was that her name was Trash Lynn.
Joscel James (54:31.783)
man. Yikes. Those robocallers are bullies.
Cara Lunsford, RN (54:37.502)
So Josel, it could be worse. You could be trash Lin. Well, I've loved having you on. I would love to have you on again. And let's do more stuff together and let's do writing workshops together. And this is gonna be amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.
Joscel James (54:39.34)
Thank you. Thank you. Good point.
Joscel James (54:50.038)
Yes, love being here. Thank you, Kara.
Joscel James (54:55.862)
Yes.
Joscel James (55:00.396)
Thank you. Thank you, Kara. I had a great time. Thank you. Thank you.
Cara Lunsford, RN (55:04.19)
wonderful. All right, I'm going to stop us really quick and then.
