Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Gun violence requires medical intervention

Michael Dorritie
Policy
March 7, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

109.

This is the number of people who died each day from firearms in the U.S. in 2017, the most recent year for which the CDC has published data. It is a staggering number, one that deeply damages the fabric of communities and tears families apart.

What’s perhaps most disconcerting is that this number – 109 – may not come as a shock. We have become so numb to the perpetual violence that these weapons cause that 109 daily deaths no longer alarm us. But put that number in context – in the U.K., 126 people died in the entire year of 2015 due to firearms. Here in the U.S., we have nearly that many people dying each day for the same reason. We ought to acknowledge there is more we can do.

Gun violence impacts all communities – from urban Chicago, to suburban Parkland, to rural Montana. Roughly 6 in 10 firearm deaths occur due to suicide, affecting predominantly white rural populations.

The remaining 4 in 10 are homicides that affect predominantly black and Latino urban populations. This is clearly not an isolated issue, and it demands the national attention it deserves so we can achieve better outcomes for our families, friends, and patients from all walks of life.
So, how can we begin to solve it?

For one, we — as a medical community — must lead this fight and tell the stories of our patients. There is perhaps no institution more well-positioned to lead the charge against gun violence than the medical field.

When an individual is shot, they come to doctors and nurses — not the gun lobby — for help. We entered this field to promote the wellbeing of our patients, and it would be irresponsible to ignore the public health crisis we have on our hands. We must speak up and share our experiences to reduce the harm that we see daily due to firearms.

As part of this charge, the medical community must further the middling research that’s currently available. Until just two months ago, firearm research had not received government funding in over 20 years, due in no small part to the Dickey Amendment.

The gun lobby pushed the Dickey Amendment as a response to a thoroughly peer-reviewed study from 1993, which revealed gun ownership as a major risk factor for homicide and suicide in the home. In the nearly three decades since, over 600,000 individuals have died from gun violence in the U.S.

Fortunately, Congress recently approved $25 million in firearms research for the CDC and NIH. It is a small but important first step in the march towards developing evidence-based approaches to gun safety. However, this crisis demands far more research funding than it currently receives, and health care organizations are uniquely positioned to tackle such a problem.

Recently, Northwell Health launched a call-to-action for the 25 largest health care organizations in the U.S. to each pledge $1 million to fund gun safety research.

With the weight of their world-class reputations, monetary support, and renowned research arms, these institutions should and can accomplish significant research to help guide our communities and public officials in promoting the safest gun practices. While these health care organizations have expressed interest in pledging to such a cause, most have not yet put their money where their mouths are. For those who work for such organizations, we must demand action from our leadership and implore them to lead the charge in combating gun violence.

Additionally, we must educate our patients about the safety measures available to them. For instance, many states now have Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) laws, or “red flag laws,” that temporarily suspend individuals’ access to firearms if they are deemed to be a present danger to themselves or others. While family members or police typically file such reports, physicians often find themselves at the intersection of gun violence and mental health.

Alarmingly, suicide rates and gun-related deaths are up 33 percent since 1999.

ADVERTISEMENT

Therefore, it is our duty to make patients and their families aware of the mental health options they have and educate them that ERPO laws exist for their protection. Such laws are not meant to permanently restrict one’s gun ownership rights. Instead, they help patients and providers weather the current storm presented by gun access and acute mental illness, emotional distress, or drug use to improve outcomes in the long term. Early data already suggests that these laws have helped to reduce suicide and homicide rates among gun owners.

Finally, we must advocate for reasonable gun safety legislation. The language is crucial here — gun safety is not the same as gun control. Regardless of individual interpretations and opinions of the Second Amendment, it has been thoroughly litigated and is not likely to change soon. Instead, we must focus our efforts on ensuring the highest level of safety for everyone in our country, while also preserving the right of responsible gun owners to own firearms.

When automobile-related deaths rose in the 1960s and 1970s, we didn’t eliminate cars. Instead, we gathered robust research to redesign cars, redesign roads, and redesign how people are trained to drive. Automobile-related fatalities have plummeted since.

The same approach is essential to reduce gun violence in our country. We must redefine our relationship with guns and the purposes they serve in our communities. Mandatory and robust background checks, bans on semiautomatic weapons, and restrictions on gun ammunition purchases are important starting points that we must champion to secure safer communities and better outcomes for our patients.

On the second anniversary of the Parkland shooting, physicians, nurses, medical students, and other health care professionals are called to lead the way in achieving better outcomes for our patients. We have the narrative evidence, the financial leverage, the research prowess, the legislative influence, and the compassionate hearts needed to elicit real change in the face of this public health crisis. Gun safety is a crisis that impacts all our lives, and today more than ever, it requires the medical intervention that it deserves.

Michael Dorritie is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

What's the future of the physician assistant?

March 7, 2020 Kevin 30
…
Next

Can a rehabilitated sex-offender make positive change?

March 7, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
What's the future of the physician assistant?
Next Post >
Can a rehabilitated sex-offender make positive change?

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Gun violence in America is a national emergency

    Hussain Lalani, MD and Justin Lowenthal 
  • Let’s share our stories about gun violence

    Barbara Meyer, MD, MPH
  • It’s time to seriously study gun violence

    Michael B. Bagg
  • Physicians should never leave the lane of gun violence

    Linda Girgis, MD
  • Approach the gun violence epidemic like we do with coronavirus

    Charles Nozicka, DO
  • Gun violence is a public health crisis

    Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

More in Policy

  • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

    Lee Scheinbart, MD
  • How locum tenens work helps physicians and APPs reclaim control

    Brian Sutter
  • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

    Ilan Shapiro, MD
  • Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws

    BJ Ferguson
  • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

    Carlin Lockwood
  • What Adam Smith would say about America’s for-profit health care

    M. Bennet Broner, PhD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • First impressions happen online—not in your exam room

      Sara Meyer | Social media
    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • Dedicated hypermobility clinics can transform patient care

      Katharina Schwan, MPH | Conditions
    • Why ADHD in adults is often missed—and why it matters [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Why recovery after illness demands dignity, not suspicion

      Trisza Leann Ray, DO | Physician
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • True stories of doctors reclaiming their humanity in a system that challenges it

      Alae Kawam, DO & Kim Downey, PT & Nicole Solomos, DO | Physician
    • How Gen Z is transforming mental health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

      Adam J. Wickett, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why wanting more from your medical career is a sign of strength

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

      Lee Scheinbart, MD | Policy
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...