School Shootings

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Yet another tragic loss of innocent life today in Santa Fe, Texas. Yet again! As a school nurse, and one who is close to your children and my children, every day during school, these senseless losses tear at my heart...and yet again, it happened today - again.

So here is the relevance of my post to "allnurses." Nurses are, probably, the most accomplished and innovative, critical thinking, problems solving, life saving, "git-er-done," people on the planet. It appears "the experts" have contributed only to reliving the definition of insanity in regard to school shooting; doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Sometimes it takes someone from the outside looking in to find the golden key.

I am requesting your ideas, recommendations, suggestions, thoughts, etc., regarding what you think would prevent future school shootings; as you would a head to toe assessment, identification, and intervention of your patient, so to speak. Or from any other relationship you have to school age children.

I am requesting genuine input. Sarcasm and political attacks are not welcome. If you don't have a contribution you think would be helpful, please don't.

If this turns out how I'm hoping it will, I intend to print the entire thread and mail it to the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott; opinions from nurses from around the world - how to stop the insanity of school shootings!

Thank you!

Specializes in Hematology-oncology.

I agree with HelloWish in that "glamorizing" school shootings is probably doing more harm than good. By glamorizing, I mean that the photo of the shooter in Texas was all over the internet 12 hours after the incident. Focus needs to be on the victims, families, and response. Minimal if any mention of the shooter should occur. For antisocial/troubled people who are capable of this sort of violence, negative reinforcement or attention is often as rewarding as positive attention.

If we can remove public attention from the perpetrators as much as possible it may remove some of the motivation. It's at least worth a try.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Over the last 18 hours, I've been asking myself "What can we do TODAY so that I will feel safe sending my son to school on Monday?" And the only answer I can come up with is what Wondern stated above - protect every single school as we do airports. Metal detectors at every door.

I'm so weary of trying to solve the over-arching issue of how do we stop all these mass shootings. I don't feel that in my lifetime, the NRA and pro-gun lobbies will release their stranglehold on our lawmakers. I just want my child to be safe, dammit!! At this point, that's all I care about. Because if it can happen to my friend's child, it can happen to mine as well. **** **** ****

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.
This one hit close to home for me. I've been a part of an internet group of breastfeeding moms for 18 years. One of my mom friends from that group lost her daughter in that shooting yesterday. I have no words - just impotent anger and sadness. I feel like it doesn't matter. It won't change. If 20 6-year-olds getting mowed down while they huddled in a closet doesn't change anything, nothing will. I feel utterly, completely defeated.

RIP Kimberly.

This hurt my heart so much ...

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

It is simplistic to blame bullying. It is mistaken to blame mental health.

Bullying is terrible and most of us have been targets at some point in life. But most of us don't commit premeditated mass murder.

I think that if you have someone who would meet the criteria of a Antisocial Personality Disorder (which we can at most call Conduct Disorder

How do you deal with that?

Here we have someone who was bullied but also was "born to kill" and illegally acquired guns and explosives.

In Parkland we had someone with repeated violent threats and acts who was intentionally sheltered by the school system from being reported (which would have made it so he couldn't legally buy firearms) and you had law enforcement at multiple levels ignoring reports that he was going to do exactly what he said he was going to do: shoot up a school.

We have systems failures here, and slapping new global laws that punish the innocent to protect them wolves is not going to solve the issue.

Another quote: I have not within the past 5 years been convicted of battery, assault, aggravated assault, violation of an order of protection, or a substantially similar offense in which a firearm was used or possessed.

5 years????? They should NEVER be able to own a gun EVER again.

If any of those were domestic violence related OR if any were potentially punishable by a year or more in prison (ie felony) then you are FEDERALLY PROHIBITED FOREVER from owning firearms.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.
To begin with...

6). PMHNP/Pediatrics in EVERY school. Double the number of high school counselors, force them to have at least 6 months education specifically in children's mental health issues.

Sounds like something that makes sense?

Where are you going to come up with another 125,000 PMHNPs and money to pay them?

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Other countries have students who have been bullied and have mental health problems. Parents with poor parenting skills. Students who spend too much time on social sites and play violent video games. I assume these countries do not have double the amount of counselors specializing in children's mental health issues. I don't think these countries have gated schools with one entry with metal detectors, armed guards, armed teachers, and students backpacks must be clear see through plastic.

All they have is sensible gun laws. Let's keep it simple.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
Where are you going to come up with another 125,000 PMHNPs and money to pay them?

School system spends your and my hard-earned tax $$$ with approximately same "effectivity" as health care system does. If one searches hard enough there, $100000/year/high school would be a bucket taken out of a pool.

FNP schools continue to mushroom and churn out grads because there are still jobs for them out there. Make mental health a priority in the system, and money will be pouring there like they stream now in cardiology. Then demand for providers will come. Psych residency is 4 years plus 2 more for pediatric fellowship, and it is not a popular area among MDs who like have things scientifically explained and fixed logically, quickly and directly, not just following "criteria" re-written by academicians every X years and chatting about life. Also, they en masse deny benefits of holistic management of everything including mental health problems, and combination of psychotherapy, holistic life management and medications might be the best way to manage lifelong problems like many Axis I and II disorders. MD/DO pipeline takes at least 10 years to react on supply/demand market changes. NPs/PAs can be produced much quickly, cheaply and with acceptable overall quality, and there never be too few nurses wanting to get the heck out of bedside.

I was bullied insanely in school and I honestly tell you that the only one reason why I did not kill anyone there was because I had no access to any type of weapons. If I'd had it, Columbine would be crying in shame.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Other countries have students who have been bullied and have mental health problems. Parents with poor parenting skills. Students who spend too much time on social sites and play violent video games. I assume these countries do not have double the amount of counselors specializing in children's mental health issues. I don't think these countries have gated schools with one entry with metal detectors, armed guards, armed teachers, and students backpacks must be clear see through plastic.

All they have is sensible gun laws. Let's keep it simple.

I completely agree with you. I have just given up all hope that anything with regards to guns will change, ever in my lifetime.

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Specializes in ED, psych.
I completely agree with you. I have just given up all hope that anything with regards to guns will change, ever in my lifetime.

^^ This.

In the meantime, I want my children to be given a fighting chance to survive. If a damn metal detector stops just one kid from bringing a gun, that's a start.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
I was bullied insanely in school and I honestly tell you that the only one reason why I did not kill anyone there was because I had no access to any type of weapons. If I'd had it, Columbine would be crying in shame.

Yikes. Okay. That's kind of scary and I'm very surprised anyone would admit something like this in public. But, the bolded. Interesting that you don't think THAT is the answer.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
Yikes. Okay. That's kind of scary and I'm very surprised anyone would admit something like this in public. But, the bolded. Interesting that you don't think THAT is the answer.

It would be an instant answer if NRA and all gun-toting Second Amendment kissers could be instantly brought to control and become truly responsible owners. But let's be reasonable: the chances for that to happen are pretty close to zero for our projected lifetime.

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