Karyn’s Bio

Meet Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, CSP, CPAE. (CSP—Certified Speaking Professional—means she speaks a lot. CPAE—Council of Peers Award for Excellence—means her peers think she’s really, really good!) Karyn transitioned from nursing to speaking when she realized she didn’t have to put in 12-hour shifts, didn’t have to handle body fluids, and did get standing ovations.

Through her 20 years of research and experience—along with Patch Adams and neuroscientist researchers—she’s concluded that humor is funny and oh, it can help lead an audience toward a positive, healthy and happy life.

Karyn’s audiences are diverse. In one month she spoke for the Mayo Clinic, Pfizer, the Association for Operating Room Nurses, the Airforce, and the Million Dollar Round Table! Her clients hire Karyn to entertain, educate and inspire their audiences over and over again. Karyn has addressed thousands of audiences around the world, to groups from 10 to 10,000. Whether it’s healthcare, corporate, education, government, or associations, Karyn’s inspirational, entertaining, and practical message brings audiences to their feet.

“It ain’t braggin’ if it’s so!” Karyn is very involved in her topic area. She has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. She serves on the advisory boards of the Invisible Disabilities Association, the American Happiness Association and NurseTogether.com. And she is the co-founder of World Laughter Tour.

If writing burned calories, Karyn would be a size 2. She is a contributing author of several Chicken Soup books, a co-author of The Service Prescription: Healthcare the Way It Was Meant to Be, and author of Amazed & Amused: How to Survive and Thrive as a Healthcare Professional. She is the creator, author, and publisher of the multiple book series: What’s So Funny About…? and the publisher of the Journal of Nursing Jocularity, the only humor magazine by nurses for nurses.

The media loves Karyn’s wit and wisdom. Karyn has appeared in many magazines such as Women’s Day, Shape, Marie Claire, and Investor’s Business Daily as well as professional journals such as AJN, AORN, AACN, and Journal of Psychosocial Nursing. She is a frequent radio and television guest.

Karyn’s mission in life: To improve global health through laughter and to help heal the humor-impaired.