Most Americans have strong feelings about gun control, whether in favor of more or less. Legislation has even been passed restricting physicians from discussing guns with patients. What is your opinion about healthcare professionals discussing safekeeping of guns in the home?
Gun ownership and regulation is a very emotional issue in the U.S. and there has been strong reaction to whether physicians and other healthcare providers should be involved in doing more to curb gun related injuries and deaths. I would like to hear some of your opinions regarding physician involvement, but first let's look at some of the gun statistics in the U.S.
More than 108,000 people are shot per year in murders, assaults, suicides, suicide attempts, unintentional shootings or by police intervention.
* More than 32,000 of them die.
* The U.S. has the most gun homicides of any developed nation. 29.7 per 100,000.
* Everyday 297 people are shot.
* 89 people die.
* 31 of them are murdered.
* 55 are suicides.
* 2 are killed unintentionally.
* 1 is killed by police.
* 1 is unknown intent.
* One in five deaths are people ages 15-29.
Over 17,000 American children and teens are injured or killed each year due to gun violence.
* 2,677 of those children die.
* Nearly 48 youth are shot per day including 7 fatalities.
* 5 are murdered and 2 are suicides.
1 in 3 homes with children have guns.
* 42% of parents with guns keep at least one unlocked.
* 25% of parents with guns keep at least loaded.
* 3 in 4 children know where firearms are kept in the home.
(Statistics; bradycampaign.org).
It has been suggested that clinicians could play a major role in reducing children's access to guns by asking if there is a gun in the home, and if so, counseling on firearm storage practices. One study showed that patients who received counseling on firearm storage were more likely to make a change in storage practice than patients who did not receive counseling. (64% vs 33%). (J Am Board Fam.Pract).
Pediatrician's offices and hospitals routinely give out infant and car seats, would it also be appropriate to distribute trigger locks and lockboxes? Firearm related injuries are a public health issue, so should there be public health initiatives regarding firearms such as there have been for reducing tobacco, toy and motor vehicle related deaths?
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
So... this cool hobby of having guns is close, but not higher, than cancer deaths? Okay.
You act as if I'm making some kind of judgment call about guns vs. cancer. I am simply responding to a very false statement made by another person in this thread:
wow
Frankly I am shocked by how paranoid so many American gun owners are, how secretive and afraid of the government. So afraid that they are hesitant to answer a screening question about gun safety in the home where children live. Gunshot wounds kill more children in this country each year than childhood cancers. One of my children's playmates was killed by an accidental shooting involving another child and an unsecured handgun years ago. Why are we, as gun owners, so afraid to answer questions about our weapons? This is a health screening question based upon the fact that children die and are injured by firearms at an unacceptable rate. Why is it scary?
This was a blatantly false statement, in that the only way to make it "true" is to include adults aged 18-24. I don't consider those ages to be "children".
I address the issue as a factual matter. The statement that was made was false and intentionally misleading, as are many others made by people who have a personal agenda in any subject matter. If I did not address the falsehood, other people would pick it up and run with it (as you'll notice emtb2rn has attempted to do in this thread) and before you know it, it's bigger than life and assumed to be true by everyone within the same cause.
Try not to look at things emotionally, but rationally. It's hard to do when dealing with a senseless loss of life -- I get that. Even harder when that life lost is a child who had an entire life ahead of them yet to be lived.
To clarify, I own guns, and I would have no problem with a pediatrician asking me -- when my son was very young -- if the guns in our house were secured so that the child could not access them. It's not any different, IMO, than when the pediatrician asks if he wears a seatbelt in a car or a helmet when riding his bike.
Where I *do* have a problem is when a healthcare provider attempts to make the conversation judgmental in nature, or when they try to "lecture" the gun-owner -- this is what I have seen from several different posters in this thread. Handing over a brochure with information to local resources for trigger/barrel locks or gun safes while stating, "almost 200 kids a year die from accidental gunfire, here are some suggestions for you to keep your child safe" is perfectly fine. No lecture, just information.
But please, folks, let's stick to FACTS and not propaganda/emotional subterfuge/blatant lies. That's all I ask, and I don't think it's too much to ask.
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
I just don't ask about guns though: I ask about other weapons. If they have a history of suicide attempts or verbalized suicidal ideation with a plan, I'll ask whether they have access to their means. Though to be honest, someone who really wants to kill themselves will find a way to do so no matter what is said or done :/
Watch out -- when I made the same statement, I got told off!
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
This kind of rhetoric is counterproductive. Just being asked if you own a gun is enough to make you think about verbal aggression and violence? It makes you seem emotionally fragile, reinforcing the stereotype of gun owners as insecure. Now, I assume this wasn't the position you intended to take, but I thought I should mention it because the proposition brillohead made was that gun owners are somehow safer, or at least more aware of gun safety. This sort of comment makes you appear less safe than other people... which reinforces the idea that we should ask about guns in the home.
Brillohead, you are correct in your questioning of the gunshot to cancer ratio. in 2013, 1,267 children aged 1-14 died from cancer. So how many kids have to die before it's ok to address preventable causes.
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
Brillohead, you are correct in your questioning of the gunshot to cancer ratio. in 2013, 1,267 children aged 1-14 died from cancer. So how many kids have to die before it's ok to address preventable causes.
Where did I ever say it wasn't addressable?
Please point out one instance of my saying that. I beg you.
I am a nurse and I thankfully have never been asked about guns in my home. If I was ever asked I would tell the provider it's none of their business (with a few explicitives). If given a free lock, i woukd likely throw it at them or tell them to shove it where the sun doesn't shine. Gun ownership and the ability to protect oneself and family are fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. If health care workers want to spit on the Constitution then I suggest they go elsewhere. I grew up in a home with guns and they were NEVER locked up! We did not touch them unless we asked. It's called good parenting! We also never wore helmets on bikes and didn't have to wear seatbelts. I wonder how I ever managed to survive this long! What good is a locked up gun going to do when someone breaks into your house? Do you think the intruders will wait for you to unlock it? What a bunch of morons this society is raising. I learned to shoot when I was 10 and learned firearm safety and respect also. For crying out loud, during the Revolutionary War period children knew how to fire weapins, granted for food gathering but also protection. We have become a police state with a bunch of pansies walking around. Look at statistics a little further. In the cities that have the strictest gun laws, there is more crime. In the places where people are armed there is less. And yes, a head shot is completely possible if you remain calm and practice good tactics. For those of you who don't want guns in the workplace, no worries I'll save your pathetic butt. You can thank me later.
It is a health question you're right, owning a firearm is directly related to my health and survival. Not owning one is completely dangerous to my health. If someone asked me in a clinical setting if I owned one, I'd likely ask them if they own a fire extinguisher for protection then ask why. I value my life therefore I will do whatever it takes to protect it.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
We are also specifically talking about this discussion in the context of a PEDIATRIC setting (or BH/MH).
The random adult medicine patient, don't give a flying fig if you own a gun. In the context of children in the home, it IS relevant and IS a health/safety question.
People in this thread are being ridiculously reactionary and hyperbolic.
We are also specifically talking about this discussion in the context of a PEDIATRIC setting (or BH/MH).
The random adult medicine patient, don't give a flying fig if you own a gun. In the context of children in the home, it IS relevant and IS a health/safety question.
People in this thread are being ridiculously reactionary and hyperbolic.
I'm also talking about it from a HH perspective. If I am going in to someone's home, I have the right to be safe.
brillohead, ADN, RN
1,781 Posts
You act as if I'm making some kind of judgment call about guns vs. cancer. I am simply responding to a very false statement made by another person in this thread:
This was a blatantly false statement, in that the only way to make it "true" is to include adults aged 18-24. I don't consider those ages to be "children".
I address the issue as a factual matter. The statement that was made was false and intentionally misleading, as are many others made by people who have a personal agenda in any subject matter. If I did not address the falsehood, other people would pick it up and run with it (as you'll notice emtb2rn has attempted to do in this thread) and before you know it, it's bigger than life and assumed to be true by everyone within the same cause.
Try not to look at things emotionally, but rationally. It's hard to do when dealing with a senseless loss of life -- I get that. Even harder when that life lost is a child who had an entire life ahead of them yet to be lived.
To clarify, I own guns, and I would have no problem with a pediatrician asking me -- when my son was very young -- if the guns in our house were secured so that the child could not access them. It's not any different, IMO, than when the pediatrician asks if he wears a seatbelt in a car or a helmet when riding his bike.
Where I *do* have a problem is when a healthcare provider attempts to make the conversation judgmental in nature, or when they try to "lecture" the gun-owner -- this is what I have seen from several different posters in this thread. Handing over a brochure with information to local resources for trigger/barrel locks or gun safes while stating, "almost 200 kids a year die from accidental gunfire, here are some suggestions for you to keep your child safe" is perfectly fine. No lecture, just information.
But please, folks, let's stick to FACTS and not propaganda/emotional subterfuge/blatant lies. That's all I ask, and I don't think it's too much to ask.