By Jaden Zhang, Junior National Pistol Team Member
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AFFIRM is proudly participating in the ABIM Foundation’s Building Trust initiative and Trust Practices Network. Healthcare organizations and stakeholders need to work together to identify, share and implement approaches to bolster trust among physicians, patients, government, and others. It’s the first step toward ensuring that our healthcare system can meet the needs of everyone at the community level
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Emergency room physician Dr. Chris Barsotti joins me for a compelling conversation about the epidemic of gun violence and his vivid account of dealing with it on the front lines. He is also the co-founder of AFFIRM with Dr. Megan Ranney. This is a powerful show that left me deeply moved throughout our exchanges.
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Though the COVID-19 pandemic has captured public health awareness and resources, other epidemics have not receded. Firearm injury continues to be one of the United States’ most devastating public health crises, and the pandemic—hitting the same populations at the same time—is likely to influence it.
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The United States has astronomical rates of firearm violence compared to other high-income nations, and to explain this discrepancy it is important to consider what is unique about the US, and the deep roots of the ongoing crisis. To understand our country’s violence, we must understand its history and the social and economic structures that engender violence, especially: poverty, racism, and the war on drugs.
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We recently wrapped up our 2nd annual AFFIRM Research Summit in Chicago with the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma. During the event, we shared the progress that was made last year with more than 50 thought leaders. Here’s a look back at what we accomplished in 2019, and a look forward to our goals for 2020—and beyond.
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A gun violence prevention research center located in the Texas Medical Center could contribute toward a national conversation by coordinating with existing centers and analyzing the impact of potential solutions at the regional level. Firearm ownership rates and attitudes toward firearms vary greatly across the country, and a research center in Texas could provide an important regional perspective currently missing from academic discussions on gun violence prevention.
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What does it mean to be an American teenager growing up in the twenty-first century? Although no two people are identical, commonalities can typically be found between even the most distinct of us adolescents.
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For victims of domestic violence, a hospital can be a safe haven: a place for compassionate treatment, a place for respite from abuse, and perhaps more importantly, a place to devise a way out of an abusive situation. Research reveals that women of color and transgender individuals disproportionately experience violence at the hands of a partner.
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It was a busy night in the emergency department. There was a man in his early 20s, brought in for concern for his safety by his father. The patient was experiencing episodes of depression and angry outbursts. Prior to arrival, he became so angry, he punched a wall and fractured his hand.
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November 11th marked the 101st annual Veterans Day celebration in the United States of America. Initially dubbed Armistice Day to mark the end of conflict in World War I, it was later renamed by President Eisenhower to acknowledge the sacrifice of those who served in or supported the large-scale military conflicts of the 1940’s and 1950’s.
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I was supposed to die on March 23, 2014. The shooter intended to use 600 rounds of ammunition to murder all 52 women living in my sorority house. I left the front door fifteen minutes before he arrived. Two women died on my front lawn, but it was supposed to be me.
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Like many of you, my job has me up at strange hours. I come home from work in the middle of the night or I am up before the sun on my way to a shift. From a young age I was taught to be careful walking alone when the streets are empty — head up, headphones off, phone out of sight, dressed a certain way; the calculations to stay safe out in public are an ingrained and inescapable reality.
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Every day, three young people between the ages of 10 and 19 die by firearm-related suicide. Also concerning is that 7.4% of students in grades 9 through 12 say that they have attempted suicide in the last year.
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The school year began again, my 19th as a school nurse in Camden, New Jersey. Working in the same city where my father’s family and 10 others were murdered 70 years ago seems more ironic than ever.
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When the majority of people think about firearm violence, media images of the medical team rushing a gunshot victim into a large room, doing procedures to stop bleeding and performing CPR come to mind. While certainly dramatic and entertaining for TV, what is not often seen is what the medical system attempts to prevent shooting and injuries from happening in the first place.
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Many physicians are first exposed to the devastation of firearm injuries in their work practice. My first experience came much earlier, when I was just 13 years old. I grew up living a very normal American life, complete with loving parents, a brother, dog, sports, and school, all within a small midwestern community. My childhood was devoid of worry, fear or danger.
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If you are ever unfortunate enough to be the victim of gun violence, it is quite possible that you may not hear the word “gunshot wound” mentioned in the halls of the hospital as you are wheeled into the trauma bay, tethered to IV’s, connected to monitors, and attached to breathing equipment. That’s because gunshot injuries are so common, that we often simply refer to them as “GSW,” followed by the location of the injury.
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It is an all too common occurrence here in the United States: mass shootings occur, and the same sequence of events occur. First, there are outpourings of frustration, then grief, and then comes the political commentary. The course is tragically predictable, and even the ensuing debates feel tired.
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