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Physicians on the Frontlines: Understanding the Lived Experience of Physicians Working in Communities That Experienced a Mass Casualty Shooting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2021

Kathleen M. O'Neill ,
Blake N. Shultz ,
Carolyn T. Lye ,
Megan L. Ranney ,
Gail D'Onofrio  and
Edouard Coupet Jr.
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Abstract

This qualitative study describes the lived experience of physicians who work in communities that have experienced a public mass shooting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventeen physicians involved in eight separate mass casualty shooting incidents in the United States. Four major themes emerged from constant comparative analysis: (1) The psychological toll on physicians: “I wonder if I'm broken”; (2) the importance of and need for mass casualty shooting preparedness: “[We need to] recognize this as a public health concern and train physicians to manage it”; (3) massive media attention: “The media onslaught was unbelievable”; and (4) commitment to advocacy for a public health approach to firearm violence: “I want to do whatever I can to prevent some of these terrible events.”

Type
Symposium Articles
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 48 , Issue S4: Gun Violence in America: An Interdisciplinary Examination , Winter 2020 , pp. 55 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2020

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