In for a 'Shock': Nurse Blake finds healing through laughter

Blake Lynch has a way of connecting with audiences.

Whether it’s on stage or through his YouTube videos, Lynch, known as Nurse Blake, uses his platform not only to make people laugh, but to educate them as well.

“I think that we don’t realize that nurses are some of the funniest people out there,” Lynch says. “As nurses, we don’t look at ourselves as comedians. You think of the nursing job as a serious one. We have to deal with all of the bad things and cope by using humor. We have a dark humor.”

Lynch is a certified nurse, as well as a content creator within the comedy realm.

He is currently on his biggest tour, which will have him out on the road until later this year. The tour, “Nurse Blake Shock Advised Comedy Tour” will make a stop in Albuquerque at Kiva Auditorium on Friday, Aug. 4.

Lynch says nursing is a stressful job, and he began to create original comedy videos aimed at his profession.

His lighthearted videos connected with healthcare workers around the world and went viral with over 300 million views — and counting. He now tours the world with his comedy, entertaining fans and lifting up healthcare workers everywhere. He also uses his platform as nursing’s biggest influencer to advocate for his fellow nurses.

“I’ve learned as a nurse to take life a little less seriously,” he says. “You see life and death every day as a nurse. What I hope is that my patients or people at the shows remember how I made them feel. I want to leave a positive influence on them and help them forget troubles for the time they are with me. The comedy on this tour has gotten a little bit more edgy which is why it’s called ‘Shock Advised.’ I want to take the comedy to a new level.”

When it comes to material, Lynch does turn to his nursing career for many of the stories. Yet, he also mentions his family life.

“Being a gay male and my parents put me through gay conversion therapy,” he says. “I talk about that to heal. I’ve separated the show into three acts, some live skits and a bit of confetti.”

The show runs about 90 minutes.

Lynch is the creator and host of NurseCon at Sea, one of the largest and most popular nursing conferences, and the NurseCon App which provides free continuing nursing education courses. He also started Banned4Life to end the FDA gay blood ban, which ultimately contributed to the lifetime ban being lifted.

In his downtime, he wrote the book, “I Want To Be A Nurse When I Grow Up.”

“I’m so lucky to have a super broad audience and that I can bring awareness to a broader audience,” he says. “I like to advocate for things I’m passionate about. The show is 18 and over and I hope it connects with everyone. The great thing about my audiences is that the majority are nurses, and that’s really special. We all have shared stories or experiences. I’m here to bring joy to everyone.”