Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The gun violence epidemic is a traumatic injury epidemic

Kohar Jones, MD
Physician
March 16, 2015
142 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

“What brings you in today?” I asked my new patient, a healthy appearing clean cut 35-year-old married man with kids.

“Check me out, doc.” (STD check? chronic disease screen?) “My brother was just diagnosed with diabetes; I want to make sure I’m OK.” (OK, easy — sugar and cholesterol check)

No prior medical problems for him.

Prior surgeries? At this question, he paused.

“I was shot in the leg last summer leaving work,” he said. “I lost a lot of blood. I spent three months in the hospital learning to walk again.”

He had been a home health aid. He was leaving the wrong home at the wrong time and got caught in crossfire.

“Now I’m afraid to leave my home,” he said. “I used to like to walk in the park. No way now. (Great way to develop diabetes.) I just get home, close the windows, watch television and eat in the dark. (Diabetes, obesity, depression.) Everything scares me. I’m terrified to step out the door. (Mental health issues too, with post-traumatic stress.) My kids cry and don’t want me to go. (Family impact.) I’m jumpy all the time, snap at them. I can’t go on like this.”

His workplace related injury turned his world upside down. He no longer works in other peoples’ homes, helping them get well. Instead, he works at Burger King and sips soda all day. (The sugar releasing natural feel good chemicals while also setting him up for weight gain, diabesity, future joint pain.) It feels safer than going into strangers’ homes and feeling vulnerable to gun violence.

Earlier this winter, I was annoyed when home health workers refused to go to the home of my patient with a gunshot wound.

I have more sympathy now. Gun violence is an epidemic. It’s catching. If you’re in a social network with gun violence, you’re way more likely to get shot. And you carry around more than just the bullet wounds, if you’re one of the two out of three people who survive a shooting. Your mind and your life have scars. Those scars can cause future health problems.

The gun violence epidemic is a traumatic injury epidemic of bullet wounds, ruptured flesh and shattered bone and life bleeding out on the sidewalk. It is also a mental health epidemic of fear and distrust, unresolved grief, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is a physical health epidemic of obesity and diabetes, when lifestyles are curtailed by the physical and mental limits of recovery fro a gunshot wound.

No more walks in the park. Staying inside in the dark watching television and sipping soda. Pushing away loved ones. The sequelae of his gunshot wound is a limp, mental scars, social isolation, and a lifestyle that will bring on the diabetes he fears.

Kohar Jones is a family physician who blogs at Prevention Not Prescription.

Prev

We are overprescribing statin medications for high cholesterol. Here's why.

March 16, 2015 Kevin 11
…
Next

Patient expectations lead to unhealthy relationships with doctors

March 16, 2015 Kevin 90
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
We are overprescribing statin medications for high cholesterol. Here's why.
Next Post >
Patient expectations lead to unhealthy relationships with doctors

More by Kohar Jones, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    A positive view of health reform, no thanks to the HITECH Act

    Kohar Jones, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Blessed to be alive after a gunshot wound

    Kohar Jones, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    State legislatures should not enter the exam room

    Kohar Jones, MD

More in Physician

  • Raw humanity on night float: inspiring patient encounters and overcoming challenges

    Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH
  • Revolutionizing emergency medicine: Overcoming long-term challenges with innovative solutions for physicians and patients

    Anonymous
  • The pediatric health care system tested to the limits: an inside look at the “at capacity” period during the tripledemic

    Jacqueline Bolt, MD
  • How chronic illness and disability are portrayed in media and the importance of daily choices for improved quality of life

    Juliet Morgan and Meghan Jobson
  • How biased language and stigmatizing labels affect patient care and treatment

    Joan Naidorf, DO
  • Emulating Michael Jordan’s winning mindset: a path to success for health care professionals and entrepreneurs

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A patient’s perspective on the diminishing relationship between doctors and patients

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

      Kevin Pho, MD | KevinMD
    • Why affirmative action is crucial for health equity and social justice in medicine

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Policy
    • How electronic health records preserve patients’ legacies in the words of oncologists

      Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Unmasking the brutal reality of gun violence in America: a call to action for unity and meaningful change

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Policy
    • Emulating Michael Jordan’s winning mindset: a path to success for health care professionals and entrepreneurs

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The growing threat to transgender health care: implications for patients, providers, and trainees

      Carson Hartlage | Policy
    • Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Physician
    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The power of coaching for physicians: transforming thoughts, changing lives

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
    • Why doctors aren’t to blame for the U.S. opioid crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Raw humanity on night float: inspiring patient encounters and overcoming challenges

      Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Is AI the solution for the shortage of nephrologists? ChatGPT weighs in.

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Tech
    • Unlocking the secrets of cancer conferences: an end-of-life counselor’s journey among pharmaceutical giants

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • Why HIPAA is failing and what you need to know to protect your data [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 45 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • What Drug Did FDA Just Approve for COVID?
  • PET Scan for Alzheimer's Dx; Predicting Colon Cancer Survival
  • What Happens When We Classify Kids' Weight as a 'Disease'?
  • Sotagliflozin Gets FDA's Blessing for Heart Failure
  • Cardiorespiratory Monitoring Can Be Telling of Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Infants

Meeting Coverage

  • No Access to Routine Healthcare Biggest Barrier to HPV Vaccination
  • Trial Results Spark Talk of Curing More Metastatic Cervical Cancers
  • Cross-Border Collaboration Improves Survival in Pediatric Leukemia Patients
  • Monoclonal Antibody Reduced Need For Transfusions in Low-Risk MDS
  • Less-Invasive Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer Proves Safe, Effective
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A patient’s perspective on the diminishing relationship between doctors and patients

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

      Kevin Pho, MD | KevinMD
    • Why affirmative action is crucial for health equity and social justice in medicine

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Policy
    • How electronic health records preserve patients’ legacies in the words of oncologists

      Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Unmasking the brutal reality of gun violence in America: a call to action for unity and meaningful change

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Policy
    • Emulating Michael Jordan’s winning mindset: a path to success for health care professionals and entrepreneurs

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The growing threat to transgender health care: implications for patients, providers, and trainees

      Carson Hartlage | Policy
    • Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Physician
    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The power of coaching for physicians: transforming thoughts, changing lives

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
    • Why doctors aren’t to blame for the U.S. opioid crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Raw humanity on night float: inspiring patient encounters and overcoming challenges

      Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Is AI the solution for the shortage of nephrologists? ChatGPT weighs in.

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Tech
    • Unlocking the secrets of cancer conferences: an end-of-life counselor’s journey among pharmaceutical giants

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • Why HIPAA is failing and what you need to know to protect your data [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The gun violence epidemic is a traumatic injury epidemic
45 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...