Gun suicides reached an all-time high in 2023, and almost 4% of gun-related deaths in the United States were unintentional shootings — the worst year on record for unintentional shootings by children.
At the same time, firearms are used in more than three out of five intimate partner homicides in the United States. Yet more than half of clinicians report that they avoid discussing firearm access and safety with patients because they don’t feel equipped to do so or worry about alienating their patients.
In this webinar, trauma surgeon Dr. Joseph Sakran talks about how the medical community must overcome its reticence, take responsibility and prepare to have these difficult conversations.
He goes through a new resource guide from the gun violence prevention organization Brady United that helps clinicians talk to their patients about firearm access and safety. He also shares how health care journalists can cover firearm access and highlight story ideas.
Kaitlin Washburn
AHCJ Health Beat Leader for Firearm Violence
Kaitlin Washburn is AHCJ’s health beat leader for firearm violence and trauma and an independent journalist based in Chicago, primarily working for the Chicago Sun-Times. She was a gun violence reporter for two years in Missouri for The Kansas City Star as a Report for America corps member. Previously, Washburn was an agriculture reporter covering the omnipresent industry in California’s Central Valley for The Sun-Gazette, also as a part of RFA. Previously, Washburn had internships at the Morning Call in Pennsylvania, the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C. and The Oregonian in Portland. She spent three years as a researcher for Investigative Reporters and Editors, based at The University of Missouri.
Joseph Sakran, M.D.
Board Chair and Chief Medical Officer, Brady United
Trauma surgeon, Johns Hopkins
An award-winning researcher and pioneer in promoting firearm injury prevention, Dr. Sakran’s dedication to his field is rooted in his lived experience of trauma from gun violence.
At the age of 17, Dr. Sakran was nearly killed after being shot in the throat with a 38-caliber bullet after a high school football game.
An active leader at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Dr. Sakran serves as the executive vice chair of Surgery, director of Clinical Operations for Surgery, and associate professor of Surgery and Nursing. His public health research — specifically on firearm injury prevention — has been recognized by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Academy Health.
Dr. Sakran gained international prominence in 2018 when the NRA told doctors concerned about gun violence to “stay in their lane” and avoid addressing the topic. Dr. Sakran spoke out to illustrate that healthcare professionals are on the frontlines of this epidemic. In response, Dr. Sakran launched @ThisIsOurLane, a grassroots movement of medical professionals committed to reducing firearm injuries and deaths.
