mopping up blood and patching up people

 

 

 

We have witnessed not one, but two, mass shootings  in the past few weeks. This should serve to remind us of the critical role our first responders, ER docs, and trauma surgeons, along with the nurses and technicians who support them, play all across our country. Their work is laudable not only because their courage and skill can mean the difference between life and death for victims of gun violence...but because it transcends race, religion, culture, and gender. And it never stops.

 

"Nothing good

ever comes from violence."

~Martin Luther~

 



The problem of gun violence in America is not new. When I was in junior high school, a shy, awkward girl in my 7th grade class picked up her father's hand gun and shot herself in the head. A boy who lived up the road from us died when the rifle he was cleaning accidentally discharged. In the city, a child died in the crossfire between rival gangs.

 

In the aftermath of the recent mass shootings--one in Pennsylvania and one in California--the AMA has again called upon physicians to take a stand against gun violence, calling it a "public health crisis" for good reason. On average, over 30,000 US citizens die in gun-related incidents each year. Many more remain injured or disabled in the aftermath of such shootings.

 

If a new virus popped up and took 30,000 lives in less than a year, you can bet public health officials would declare it a crisis...and then do something about it. Epidemiologists would jump in to examine modes and patterns of transmission. Researchers would swing into action to develop anti-viral drugs to treat the infection, and a new vaccine to prevent its spread.

 



 

Not so with gun violence. We are still just mopping up blood and patching up victims. By then, it's too late.

 

So, what about prevention? What can we, as primary care providers, do?

 

"On behalf of the gun industry,

the NRA appreciates America's

continued silence on

meaningful gun legislation."

~quotesgram~



 

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests we ask about firearm safety as part of the clinical encounter. To raise awareness of the dangers inherent in firearm possession, and to educate parents and children about gun safety. Are there guns in the home? Where are they kept? How are they stored? It is hoped that these reminders will prompt parents to double check on safe gun practices in their own homes.

 

If this sounds easy enough, let me assure you, it is not. Years ago, when I addressed this issue as part of one well-child exam, my young patient's mother became irate. She insisted it was absolutely none of my business and had nothing at all to do with his health care. She reported me to management. This, when just weeks earlier, a child in our community died after a sibling accidentally fired a gun he found in the home.

 

"The safety of the people

shall be the highest law."

~Marcus Tullius Cicero~

 



It takes enormous courage and skill to care for the victims of gun violence in our country. It requires sensitivity and determination just to talk about it.



 jan