The Profession of Healthcare Clowning
What Does Healthcare Clowning Mean?
Healthcare clowning involves trained professional performers, often referred to as „clown doctors,“ who use improvisation, physical comedy, magic, puppetry, and music to bring laughter, physical and mental well-being, and hope to patients. The clowns work in hospitals and various other healthcare settings to lift patients‘ moods, reduce anxiety, and create a positive atmosphere for patients, their families, and healthcare staff.
All efhco. member organisations employ clowns, who are professional artists having completed a minimum of 500+ hours specialised training dedicated to work within healthcare environments. The curriculum enables to develop an individual clown doctor personality, to establish best practices and working methods to become professional healthcare clowns.
What Does Healthcare Clowning Mean?
Healthcare clowning involves trained professional performers, often referred to as „clown doctors,“ who use improvisation, physical comedy, magic, puppetry, and music to bring laughter, physical and mental well-being, and hope to patients. The clowns work in hospitals and various other healthcare settings to lift patients‘ moods, reduce anxiety, and create a positive atmosphere for patients, their families, and healthcare staff.
All efhco. member organisations employ clowns, who are professional artists having completed a minimum of 500+ hours specialised training dedicated to work within healthcare environments. The curriculum enables to develop an individual clown doctor personality, to establish best practices and working methods to become professional healthcare clowns.
Discover the various working fields of Healthcare Clowning
Starting in Europe some 35 years ago with bedside clown visits of hospitalized children, today the professional clowns work everywhere where a smile and humour are essential:
Our member organisations have standardized structures and procedures for contact, information flow, preparatory reports, and meetings with healthcare staff and management for interdisciplinary collaboration. Before meeting patients, residents, and their families, the healthcare clowns will daily communicate with the healthcare staff, take a report, and be updated in the different wards and spaces.
Children and young people
The healthcare clowns meet children and young people in a way that benefits their emotional well-being. They help them develop self-esteem and bring fresh energy, fun, and play bedside and in the hospital ward.
efhco. supports children and young people to have the right to play under Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) of 1989.
Children before and during medical procedures
When healthcare clowns are present during medical procedures, less force is used, which helps alleviate long-term trauma. Their visits also help provide communication and coping strategies for families experiencing illness, making difficult times in the hospital more enjoyable.
Seniors
Through health-promoting clowning and respect for the individual’s life experience, healthcare clowns
visit older people, many living with dementia, in hospitals or care homes. The clowns often act as an extended family to the residents, sharing precious moments with them, and promoting joy, activity, and creativity – increasing their quality of life.
efhco. supports the UN Principles for Older Persons of 1991 of safeguarding their rights in healthcare, social protection, employment and participation in decision-making processes.
People with disabilities
Healthcare clowns visit people of all ages with severe disabilities in care institutions or hospitals.
Developmental disabilities refer to conditions caused by impairments in one or more of four areas: physical, learning, language, or behaviour, and typically begin during a child’s developmental period, or are caused for example by an accident. They usually last throughout a person’s lifetime and may impact daily life. Healthcare staff can request assistance from a clown doctor when needed, for instance, during medical procedures, to support the patients and the outcomes of the procedures.
‘Clowns in the Class Room’ is another project, the healthcare clowns are beneficial for the young students. The teaching staff of the young ones with complex needs confirms the positive outcomes of the clown visits like improved communication and participation or social interaction skills, a better self-esteem and confidence by same time reduced anxiety.
We all need meaningful interactions with others for our well-being; healthcare clowns provide this through genuine interactions, humour, play, the use of music and sometimes touch.
Refugees
Healthcare clowns meet children in refugee camps, where play is often an unattainable luxury. The clowns create spaces where the children and their families can feel safe and special to someone and feel that they are valuable. A space where they can laugh, dream, and play.
These special trained, professional clown artists in crisis areas bring interactive humour, play, often circus skills, music, puppetry, storytelling – fun activities to replace fear and uncertainty. Above all, the clowns seek to create a warm space where all can feel seen positively and provide them with good memories.
Care Homes
The healthcare clowns’ work setting is often in caring homes, some clowns do even visit patients in their private home, bringing joy to them and their caring family members.
The clown visits are adapted to the varying needs of the individuals and the different wards and spaces.
Palliative Care
Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients (adults and children) and their families facing challenges associated with life-threatening illness. It uses an interdisciplinary collaboration team approach, which the Healthcare Clowns are a part of, to promote support in demanding situations through play, imagination, humour, and poetry. Our professional Healthcare Clowns’ organisations often use a specialised and mobile team to visit people in hospitals, institutions and private homes.
Children in special circumstances
Abuse and neglect are disturbing subjects. Healthcare Clowns can help relieve some of the pain caused by these with playfulness, lightness, and laughter. They convey optimism and support the child’s journey forward so that difficulties are not experienced in isolation. The child may have many questions, and the clown may use her position of ‘not knowing’ to ask the staff curious questions and, together with the child, make discoveries, which can enhance understanding along the path to healing.
Safeguarding children and adults at risk of abuse or neglect is a collective responsibility. Healthcare Clowns will be trained to recognise and report safeguarding issues. They are registrants, having a professional duty of care.
One of efhco.’s main goals: Professional Trained Healthcare Clowns
One of the reasons for setting up efhco. was the importance of professionalism.
We want to ensure a good performance of the healthcare clown profession carried out by healthy and professional organizations.
In the constantly changing world of healthcare it is necessary to bundle the visions, networks, knowledge and skills of all the members to keep our work aligned with what is needed and to inspire each other with new possibilities.
We want the quality of our work to be on a high level. There are many developments in the Arts in Health movement. Our profession and our impact have to stay aligned and acknowledged.
The healthcare clown is a profound being in making connections with people in need of joy. The vulnerability of the people we meet needs the best quality we can offer.
Becoming a Healthcare Clown
efhco. was a partner in the European Co-funded Erasmus+ research project “Healthcare Clown Pathways” 2019 – 2022. This Research & Development project was created, considering the growth and importance of the role of Healthcare Clowns as professional performing artists.
Required Competencies and Quality Standards for the Healthcare Clown Training Curriculum were defined in a sharing, transferable manner for obtaining the profession and specialisation on a European level, referring to the standards, recognized by the ECVET (European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training) and the EQF System (European Qualifications Framework) level 4.
Criteria 1
Talent
Talent & Curiosity to Learn and Keep Learning
Criteria 2
Empathy
Empathy with an appropriate Distance & Resilience to Scope with Experiences in Healthcare Environments
Criteria 3
Flexibility
Team Player & Flexibility
Criteria 4
Personality
A Personality with Balance in Life
Quality Label Audit and Certification
At efhco., we prioritize professionalism and high standards in the healthcare clown profession. Our commitment to quality ensures that our work remains aligned with the evolving needs of the healthcare sector. By fostering collaboration among members, we continuously enhance our skills and knowledge, ensuring that our impact is both profound and acknowledged.
To maintain these standards, we have established a quality label that all current and applying new full members must comply with. This involves a thorough managerial and artistic evaluation onsite at the member organizations site, followed by regular quality audits every five years. These audits provide an opportunity to reflect on and improve various aspects of a member organization, including management, artistry, fundraising, innovation, and impact.
Beneficiaries of Healthcare Clowning
The beneficiaries of healthcare clowning are children and young people undergoing medical treatment, people with mental or physical disabilities, older people in hospitals or care homes, as well as their families and professional caring staff.
Benefits for healthcare staff
Healthcare staff usually find it easier to complete their tasks when collaborating with clowns during medical procedures. The clowns alleviate the patients’ stress and anxiety during medical treatments. The clown brings lightness and fun to beneficiaries and the staff workplace, which can shorten hospital stays for patients, free up resources for the benefit of healthcare institutions.