Gun Safety In Pediatrics

A patient's health and safety are important to doctors. It's important for health care providers during a child's routine physical exam to discuss with parents about safety, but especially gun safety in the house. Zadronzy stated the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes pediatricians should educate parents on firearm safety during checkups, and how dangerous it is if they have access to guns. "Doctors counsel patients about a range of safety issues, including avoiding lead paint, wearing seatbelts, getting vaccinated and dealing with dangers of backyard pool" (Leonard 2015). Dr. Lee also stated that doctors are routinely asking questions about safety measures. Questions that are usually asked are: Is your child wearing a helmet

Lee believes some parents don't know enough about gun safety, and should be educated by pediatricians to prevent accidents. Zadronzy made a reference to Costello, who is a pediatrician, how she sees families and children affected by guns. She wants to counsel parents on firearms and injury prevention. In addition, Zadrozny stated that the American Academy of Pediatrics has educated parents regarding gun safety. This can help reduce the number of suicides and homicides in teenagers. “The most effective measure to prevent suicide, homicide, and unintentional firearm-related injuries to children and adolescents is the absence of guns from homes and communities” (Zadronzy 2014). Dr. Lee made a reference there is research that 1/3 of boys who are between 8 to 12 years old pull the trigger when they find a gun. There have been reports of siblings accidently shooting another or themselves. From 2000 to 2013, there were 150 accidental deaths in children using firearms, who were younger than 20 years old (Dr. Lee 2015). Zadronzy also made reference that 20,600 who are under 25 years old are injured by a firearm and 6,570 of them die. "If anything should be deemed a "never event" in our society, certainly it would be a child accidently and fatally shooting another child" (Lee 2015). Zadronzy made a reference to Dr. Sege, a pediatrician, who stated that guns endanger the health and lives of kids (Zadronzy

There are children who are isolated and made fun of in school, and can retaliate. That's how violence can occur, from being made of fun. According to Keim, shooters were isolated, and disconnected from social norms. Being isolated could make a person become violent. Violence starts when they are young, so physicians should be able to counsel parents regarding gun safety. The Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals said doctors should be able counsel on gun safety but not inquire. Zadronzy stated that the National Rifle Association (NRA) says pediatricians should not talk about gun laws. She said that NRA does promote gun safety, education, and training. If pediatricians want to help promote this message, they would have to pay 25 dollars a year. However, Dr. Lee said parents deserve to be educated on gun safety, and doctors should be the ones educating. A few topics he said to discuss were firearms in locked boxes, no guns in the home, and elevated trigger pressure. He said that the topic would be about gun safety, not gun control.

Overall, all health care providers should be involved and ask about gun safety. Zadronzy stated pediatricians will continue to push on more research for gun control, and have a policy changed so children are safe. Dr. Lee stated that primary care doctors and pediatricians