Should Professional Nursing Organizations take a Position on Gun Violence?

Should Professional Nursing Organizations take a Position on Gun Violence?

1. Introduction

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 310 individuals in the United States are shot every day. While 210 of the causalities survive with injuries, the remaining 100 unluckily succumb. Globally, the country has the 28^th-highest mortality rate due to gun violence (Lopez, 2018). The figures are even more worrying at the level of the state. For instance, the District of Colombia has a gun violence mortality rate of 16.34 for every 100,000 individuals, which is far beyond the union’s rate of 4.43 per 100,000. Louisiana and Texas have mortality rates of 10.68 and 4.74, respectively (Lopez, 2018). It is, therefore, clear that gun violence is a problem of national and global concern, and like other human groups, the professional nursing organization should strongly advocate against the barbaric act that adversely affects human health and wellbeing.

2. Initial Argument
   • Gun Violence Negatively Affects and Individuals Health

Anyone who has ever been in a violence infested area would attest to the fact that gun violence adversely affects the social, physical, mental, and medical health of so many individuals. Socially, gun violence limits human movement and interactions, which promotes loneliness and, later, stress. Equally, following a gun violence incident, police might carry out arbitrary arrests, which could even attract the apprehension and imprisonment of innocent individuals, hence limiting them from meeting their friends and family members.

As statistically shown above, gun violence is a precursor of either death or physical injuries. In cases where the casualties have had to survive the terrible ordeals, gunshot wounds have latter degenerated into various physical disabilities (Cogan et al., 2018). Apparently, there are individuals whose hands and legs have been amputated due to chronic gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, gun violence does not only affect the involved parties, but the impact can be extended to other vulnerable groups such as women and children.  Research has shown that children who have had to witness their parents or relatives being shot have been found to develop psychological problems.

We can undeniably state gun violence has an immediate and adverse effect on the health of the casualties. Ideally, the role of nurses, who are a member of the professional nursing organizations, is to promote human health and wellbeing. Their first responsibility is to ensure that the physical, social, mental, and medical health of individuals is preserved and taken care of. Advocating against gun violence by these professional organizations would limit their incidences and hence the number of casualties involved, which automatically translates to the preservation of human health (Cogan et al., 2018).

• Gun Violence Compromises the Quality of Health Care

A rise in gun violence implies an increase in the number of individuals visiting the emergency department and getting hospital admissions (Odom-Forren, 2016). It is the responsibility of nurses and other personnel to attend to these casualties irrespective of their numbers. In case the gun violence culture is left to thrive, then the nurses would spend most of their time nursing survivors rather than concentrating on other critical medical conditions. In the long run, the administration of quality health care would likely be compromised due to an increase in the workload. It is, therefore, the duty of professional nursing organizations to adopt a preventive towards gun violence-related health issues, and the only way to do so is by advocating against the acts.

• Gun Violence Affects the Individual Security of Nursing Personnel

Like other human beings, nurses equally live in areas where gun violence is propagated and practiced. It is possible that they, too, may become victims of these heinous activities. It can as well occur to their family members or friends. Essentially, no single person, regardless of their profession, would wish such events to come into their lives. It is, hence, critical that nurses come out in their numbers to speak against these unwanted behaviors.

Apart from posing a security threat to nurses’ lives, gun violence can hinder the ability of nurses to work efficiently (Odom-Forren, 2016). Gunshots cause fear and panic whenever they are heard from anywhere.  A nurse going to attend to a patient would feel scared and afraid of the environment she has to pass through if it is insecure and threatening. Due to fear for their lives, nurses are likely to request for transfer from such violent areas or entirely resign from duty. A massive pullout from the nursing profession would culminate in poor health conditions for the populations in the affected areas. To avoid the occurrence of such events, nurses need to take a strong position against gun violence and crimes.

3. Final Remarks

Even though professional nursing organizations have little role in initiating and implementing security measures that can lower cases of gun violence, their unanimous voice and call for a gun violent free society can go a long way to achieving peaceful coexistence among people. Gun violence and health care are related entities, in which an increase in the former variable would severely affect and compromise the later. None of the nursing personnel would desire to witness an escalation in gun violence as it increases their workload, threatens their security, and adversely affects the lives of people. Taking a strong position against the vise is a preventive approach that nursing organizations can adopt to limit and do away with gun violence.

References

Cogan, R., Nickitas, D. M., Mazyck, D., & Hallowell, S. G. (2019). School Nurses Share Their Voices, Trauma, and Solutions by Sounding the Alarm on Gun Violence. Current Trauma Reports, 5(4), 178-186.

Lopez, G. (2018). America’s unique gun violence problem explained in 17 maps and charts. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/policyandpolitics/2017/10/2/16399418/us-gun-violence-statistics-maps-charts.

Odom-Forren, J. (2016). Gun violence: A public health and nursing concern. Journal of perianesthesia nursing, 31(4), 285-288.