Health care workers are the overlooked victims of gun violence

Gun violence is a public health crisis that’s rightly portrayed as negative for shooting victims, but it’s also important to focus on others who are impacted indirectly. Treating victims of gun violence has long-term negative effects for clinicians, such as flashbacks, intrusive thoughts and nightmares. 

The role health care workers play in treating victims of gun violence is often overlooked. All health care professionals, especially emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, are particularly vulnerable to having symptoms of secondary traumatic stress and vicarious traumatization. Health care workers’ exposure to graphic injuries and emotional trauma intensifies the workload and challenges associated with an already demanding position. 

It may be assumed that the brunt of the impact is taken on by emergency room clinicians. However, there are other victims, such as frontline workers or EMS personnel who experience similar trauma. Emergency medical technicians (EMTs), doctors, police and firefighters are affected similarly through nightmares, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms. 

The emotional labor required to be a health care professional who assists with gun violence does not end when they clock out of work. These intense emotions follow professionals outside of their workplaces. 

The suffering of direct victims and their loved ones is more socially accepted and visible than the suffering of health care professionals, who typically suffer “behind the scenes.” 

Health care workers’ trauma may not always be seen as acceptable. After all, they are the ones who stepped into their positions knowing the risks associated with health care and vicarious traumatization. They are expected to “stay strong” in their roles because so many people rely on them. 

It is important to ensure the mental health of medical professionals as they practice, and that includes support from their workplaces. Being forced to seek help outside of work chips away at individual resources, like time and money. 

The failure of workplaces to provide mental health services for workers who are constantly traumatized at work is a form of structural violence. This leads to employee burnout, longer hospital wait times and staffing shortages. 

In this way, health care are secondary victims of gun violence.

Gun violence is preventable, but deaths from mass shootings and other acts of gun violence are still too common. Systematic change, such as gun control, could decrease these numbers.  

We must be more conscious when talking about gun violence to ensure we mention the victims who often go unnoticed: health care workers. Addressing gun violence, while sometimes controversial, would save lives and reduce caregiver trauma.

Cecilia Conery is studying psychology and social work at the University of St. Thomas.

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