Medical: Clowns relax children but not doctors or nurses

Italian researchers have discovered that having a clown in the operating room relaxes anxious children but annoys the heck out of doctors and nurses.

Study author Laura Vagnoli of Anna Meyer Children's Hospital in Florence, said: "The questionnaire for health professionals indicated that the clowns were a benefit to the child but the majority of staff was opposed to continuing the program because of perceived interference with the procedures of the operating room."

In Australia we are different - we don't have clowns in operating rooms, we only have them as Health Ministers.