Trauma surgeons Drs. Masiakos and Griggs outline the public health crisis that is gun violence and the need for further research and action to combat this persistent threat. In “The Quiet Room,” they achingly describe delivering the devastating news to a mother that her child has died. They note that “we tell ourselves that this senseless dying must end. But it doesn’t end. Another child is shot, and another mother is heartbroken.” They go on to outline the epidemic of gun violence, asserting that “whether on the streets of Chicago or in the churches of Charleston and Sutherland Springs, [it] is a national health emergency.” These trauma surgeons, along with many other physicians, stress that “only if funding for research on firearm-violence prevention and public health surveillance is reinstated can we determine the best approach to addressing the public health crisis of firearm violence.”
Writing Prompt: What specific information would be helpful from firearm-violence research to stem the tide of this epidemic? Have you cared for a patient who has suffered from firearm-violence? Write about the experience. What can you do as an individual to join in the “collective power” to address this public health crisis? Write for 10 minutes.