Magic for the Healthcare Professional
Al Hastings
All this stuff could be written up and gone into details via a(n) (e)
book, but I am not a greedy person and I am giving these ideas I used
from over the years for FREE as a to a donation to both professions
(medical and magical). I even thought about sending thes ideas to a
magic periodical, but I am writing this in a public (and permanent)
forum so no yahoo can edit my work.
but first...a sermon:
God Bless you gentlemen for what you do! Especially If you
encorperate magic in your medical practice. I mean that with the
bottom of my heart - God Bless you.
With that said, may I share some things I do in the hospital setting
and a different opinion (so please don't take offence)?
This is just personal perference but I, seldom if never, add magic at
the bedside. It is an ethical situation I do -NOT- want to flirt with
at all! Magic is my part time business, and I treat it like one. A
Business.
It moves me beyond words when I run into someone at the supermarket
and someone says something like, "you made things easier for me and my
family when my husband passed away." Nursing is my ministry. I want
to be remembered that way...and not the ICU nurse that does magic.
Magic is a peg to hang your personality on...it's not about you, it's
about -THEM- the person that is sick. To get a spin off show from the
hospital makes me sick.
Then again, I don't provide care for children though. Thus, that's why
my views are different. I do enjoy your stories about it
though..maybe I may change my views about it.
I do volunteer magic at the bedside, but not as a nurse, rather as a
magician. I do it because I enjoy donating my time and making people
happy. I don't even give my Stage Name nor am I handing out Ed Harris
Bills while I do it.
I also want to say...Yikes! Magicians are doing sponge balls and
cards in the hospital??? If the props are handled or placed on a
surface like a tray table, they should be thrown away before you reach
the door when you leave!
(this is the end of my sermon)
First off.......If you guys would like, i'd be happy to post a video
of how to make at least half a dozen balloon animal out of latex
gloves :)
For those of you that DO magic at bedside (as a professional), there
are so many FUN things that can be performed with things already in
the hospital! Such as:
*Those isolation stethscopes can be rigged as a rigid rope type
trick. While there are many methods of gimmicking this trick, I use
the bead method.
*Test tubes - you can go into AT LEAST a 5 minute routine with this.
They are the perfect size if you know cigerette manipulations. I tell
a story of how they lost my lab work and found it but they drew the
wrong test tube.. (using a gimmick test tube with one color at one end
and a different color at the other end like the gimmicked cigerette
with 2 butts) If you take these tops off you then can segue into a
thimble routine.
*Tounge depressors - paddle move, I have a routine i enjoy so much, I
use it for walk around outside the hospital!
*Ever notice the pulse ox stops working with the BP cuff inflates? The
old pulse stop trick is powerful here especially if you play it right,
it even fools healthcare professionals. I also devised a secret way
to get the heart monitor to ring asystole, but i'm keeping that secret
for now :-)
*Cut and restore IV tubing. Next time someone sour pus says, "hey
give me a boost.." walk in with a pair of scissors and cut and restore
the IV tubing. Besure to shake all the fluid out of the tubing to
further sell the effect. Don't milk this too long, do it as a quick
shock value. If you know how to make "oil of milk" for milk pitchers,
you can cut and restore diprivan tubing. I tried this with o2 tubing
but the effect isn't as fun as IVs.
*Twisting head llusion and full body levitation with the linen
(especially if you wear those crocs!).
*rubber bands - as someone already said.
*Paper - There are endless effects, gags, mentalism taht can be done
with just paper and it practices infectious disease control as it
never leaves the room.
*I have a routine with just ball point Pens! Fl!p stick stuff (it's
the perfect length from your middle finger to the crook of your
wrist), color changing flip stick, vanishing pen (behind the ear),
items to pen cap via stricking vanish.
*med vial caps - disposable substitute for any coin routine you can
think of.. (notice i'm emphasizing infection control??)..caps across,
caps through tray table, etc. If anyone wants, I can tell of a great
practical joke with just these caps.
This is just a few things I have in my notes book from off the top of
my head. I have so much more to share, but my vision is blurred from
looking at this screen. More later...
-A