Development and Implementation of a Novel Case-Based Gun Violence Prevention Training Program for First-Year Residents

Bibliographic Data

ID21612568
AuthorsCharles G Rickert (University of California System), Gretchen Felopulos (G. Felopulosis instructor of psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.), Benjamin Shoults (B. Shoultswas a researcher, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, at the time of writing and is now a medical student, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota.), Sejal Hathi (S. Hathiwas a resident in internal medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, at the time of writing and is now assistant professor, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.), Shannon E Scott-Vernaglia (S.E. Scott-Vernagliais assistant professor of pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.), Paul Currier (P. Currieris assistant professor of medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.), Peter T Masiakos (0000-0001-8933-010X, P.T. Masiakosis associate professor of pediatric surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and codirector, MGH Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Boston, Massachusetts.), Chana A Sacks (0000-0002-6999-3173, C.A. Sacksis instructor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and codirector, MGH Center for Gun Violence Prevention, Boston, Massachusetts., corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume97
Issue10
Pages1479-1483
Publication date2022-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAcademic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1040-2446 • E-ISSN: 1938-808X
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/acm.0000000000004656
PMID35320125
OpenAlexW4220786114
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited9

PROBLEM: Gun violence results in approximately 40,000 deaths in the United States each year, yet physicians rarely discuss gun access and firearm safety with patients. Lack of education about how to have these conversations is an important barrier, particularly among trainees. APPROACH: A 2-part training curriculum was developed for first-year residents. It included (1) a didactic presentation outlining a framework to understand types of firearm-related violence, describing institutional resources, and reviewing strategies for approaching discussions about firearms with patients, and (2) interactive case scenarios, adjusted for clinical disciplines, with standardized patients. Before and after the training, participants completed surveys on the training's relevance, efficacy, and benefit. Standardized patients provided real-time feedback to participants and completed assessments based on prespecified learning objectives. OUTCOMES: In June-August 2019, 148 first-year residents in internal medicine (n = 74), general surgery (n = 12), emergency medicine (n = 15), pediatrics (n = 22), psychiatry (n = 16), and OB/GYN (n = 9) completed the training. Most (70%, n = 104) reported having no prior exposure to gun violence prevention education. Knowledge about available resources increased among participants from 3% (n = 5) pretraining to 97% (n = 143) post-training. Awareness about relevant laws, such as Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and their appropriate use increased from 3% (n = 4) pretraining to 98% (n = 145) post-training. Comfort discussing access to guns and gun safety with patients increased from a median of 5 pretraining to 8 post-training (on a scale of 1-10, with higher scores indicating more comfort). NEXT STEPS: Delivery of a case-based gun violence prevention training program was effective and feasible in a single institution. Next steps include expanding the training to other learners (across undergraduate and graduate medical education) and institutions and assessing how the program changes practice over time

Gun violence · Injury prevention · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Program evaluation · Suicide prevention · Gun Ownership and Violence Research · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Traumatic Ocular and Foreign Body Injuries

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