Medical Professions and Guns - I'm Curious

I am a pediatrician and carry all the time. I don't carry in the office because I don't really feel that I need to but I have it in my locked safe in my office. Many nights a month I have to "run" to the hospital. Nobody knows that I carry under my scrubs.

I have many friend physicians here in the hospital who are into guns, nurses too. I also have alot of parents of my patients who are into guns and hunting. We always spend about 5 minuntes after talking about guns stuff. I also have a patient whose father is a detective. Once, he ran to me in Walmart with a child like smile in his face showing his new toy - Ruger LCP that he just bought.

You were right about the buying power of physicians. My friend surgeon, buys at least 3-4 firearms every month, I mean every month. I most probably have bought and traded about 30+ guns in 3 years.

Many parents suprisingly are good practicioners of gun safety.

Being in TX is a skewed sample, but there are usually 2 or 4 physicians at a local IDPA match. Also, in TX - I've never had any negativity about firearms when I've discussed them in terms of my medical conditions. Eyes, arthritis, etc.
I've also met some at the larger tactical conferences.

The general medical literature is not pro-firearms. Nor is the public face of academia. However, the percent of faculty having CHLs in OR and TX at 4 schools we sample for a class project a few years ago was close to the state percentange. Of course, that's low as the percent of the pop with such isn't high even in gun lovin' states.

I'm a Chiropractor working in a busy office in Philadelphia. I carry to and from work everyday. I generally lock up my gun while treating patients though.

My Doctor is very progun. He has a gun cabinet in his private office and deer heads on the wall, that he shot himself.

Dentist here (couldn't guess from the SN right?). Geography I think plays a big role in that here in AZ most of the dentists I know do own firearms. If I was practicing in Manhatten my experience would be different.

As stated in this thread there are way more medical auxillaries (nurses, therapists, techs, etc) than physicians that it's natural that there will be more of these people on forums, etc.

I do believe that IN GENERAL I've seen a correlation with the higher the education the less gun ownership. Academia in general tends to have somewhat left-leaning tendencies and hence intentionally or unintentionally you'll have more anti-gun sentiment.

To be clear...I'm not saying the smarter you are the less you like guns, but that the more time you spend in academia the more anti-gun sentiment you'll experience and if you don't already have a background with firearms you'll be more likely to accept it as part of who you are and what you've learned.

I'm a doc, and am very pro-gun. Love to shoot, and I conceal carry.

Several others in my practice share the same views I do and have extensive collections.

I was on a flight once, and there was an Algerian woman having issues, they called for assistance, I was sitting next to a Doctor, I was a medic, I got up, lady was motion sick, had inner ear and anxiety issues.

I was there with another EMT, the medically trained stewardess and a ICU nurse. She was basically having a Panic attack, with vertigo. The doctor said that it's too much of a hassle with liability for a doctor to just jump in, and most doctors DON'T do emergency medicine. That's right folks, he was scared of Lawyers, Good Samaritan laws didn't cover me, and defiantly doesn't cover a Doctor.

So, it's like this, go to a party, and someone finds out X is a doctor, and then they say, "I've got this pain..." This is a gun board, not a medicine board, so much like the soldiers, veteran and cops, who may qualify their post with 'I learned this *here*"

I doubt a doctor will say 'in my practice guns....' as medicine and guns rarely cross, but I have read in S&T a few corners opinions about different ammo.

My Dr is a MAJOR gun guy. He has some serious hardware. The safe in his office cost more than my pickup. We get along great.

for dan parker: i skin my turkey by cutting alont the keel, peeling the skin back along the sides to the wing bases and knees and then cut all that off and cut the neck off near its base. that leaves the best part of the bird. i just cooked my spring turkey and am eating it now.

back to topic. i am a physician and love guns, shooting, and especially hunting. down here in south texas many doctors are into all of the above, frequently the ones from foreign countries where they might not have been able to own or use them in their native land.

American Association of Pediatrics (or what ever it is called) I believe has an antigun statement in its mission statement.

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The AAP's policy statement on firearms has not been updated since 2000. As such it is fairly comical (and I would have thought, embarrassingly inaccurate):

Several legal reviews emphasize that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual's gun ownership. Two cases,Presser v Illinois and United States v Miller, have established the meaning of the Second Amendment. These and later federal court rulings have indicated that the "right" to bear arms is linked to the preservation of state militias and is not intended to provide for an individual's right to own a firearm. The federal government could ban whole categories of firearms, such as handguns and assault weapons.

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In their advice to parents, they continue to quote the "43 times" fiction, and say flatly that you should not purchase a gun, and if you have, it should be removed from the home. I think, all tolled, they have asked us to judge their competence.

Nevertheless, they printed these letters from pro-gun docs:Guns are `perfectly reasonable' defense tools; Offensive advertising; and Firearms education.

If you look up the American College of Emergency Physicians, their firearms policy is slightly less antigun, but they call for increased regulations, espeically along the "consumer safety" lines. And the AMA is no better.

http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/


im pretty sure this guy is a member here at THR too...he could prob give you some good insight on guns and the medical field

I'm an Orthopedic surgeon and avid hunter / gun enthusiast. My passion for such is a product of my upbringing. I grew up in a blue collar family in VA and spent a large portion of my younger days hunting and fishing. My profession exposes me to a lot of human gun related injuries. I've learned as much about terminal performance of bullets in wounded people as I have in animals that I've harvested over the past 30 years. I agree with a previous poster that the percentage of gun friendly vs anti-gun physicians reflects a cross section of society in general. I have several physician friends who are just as passionate about hunting and guns as I am. Escaping to the outdoors with one of my favorite rifles or shotguns is my prescription for stress relief and maintaining some sanity in this crazy world.

In most professions where you deal with the public on a daily basis, privacy is very important. I really don't want folks to know what I do. And I dislike getting the "hey, I've got this rash" type of questions in social settings.

You'd be surprised at what we do: Just in my ER group: we have several former Marines, one naval navigator, one navy doc, on AF doc. One of our PA was Recon Corpsman. Another PA was Army Ranger (we talked alot of Ranger school). I remember one ER doc in NH who was DevGrp.

Me: I'm just a lucky Marine doing what I luv best. Instead of talking health, I'd rather talk 7.62, 5.56, .45, etc. Or Force Recon or Ranger school. Or jumping, Draeger Lar V, CQB, or best home defense.

Besides, lumping all docs into one organization or stereotype is well...:banghead:

I work in a Hospital. And ive taken the Docs out to go shooting a few times. They love it. But alas... Idaho might be a bit different then a few other states.

The lady next door is an ER physician at a few hospitals, including "The Med".
When she heard that I was buying ammo, her reaction was "Ammunition?!"

Maybe her exposure to the results of criminal actions/stupid mistakes with guns prompted it, or she had never heard anybody admit such a thing.

There could easily be another reason, as she is from a small city/town in AR (gun-friendly state).

Well, don't mention 'two dudes' around her or she might get a little ancy

(I have seen pics, and was regaled with all the cases where 'some guy, just minding my own business, when Two Dudes just...')

Seems that most physicians are pretty busy people and not personally involved in espousing political or social activities. However, the AMA is very active and very antigun. I sat through a seminar at Shands hospital in Gainesville, Florida wherein the physician lectured on guns as medical problem. The presentation was full of statistics and lacking in professional presentation or content.

Our local shop just had a private CCW class with a local trauma surgeon. He invited his trauma team to take the class at his ranch.

Nice ranch I'm told, lots of Arabian Horses, and now a Trauma Surgery team that is packing heat. Good day all around, I think.

jiminhobesound said:

Seems that most physicians are pretty busy people and not personally involved in espousing political or social activities. However, the AMA is very active and very antigun. I sat through a seminar at Shands hospital in Gainesville, Florida wherein the physician lectured on guns as medical problem. The presentation was full of statistics and lacking in professional presentation or content.

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That's a crying shame because that's where I did my Orthopaedic training :banghead:. The presenter of that seminar should thank his lucky stars that I wasn't present to instill a little lively debate on the topic!

My family >> 2-RN's 1-LPN ,, all 3 careers mostly involved with the care of elderly/physical or mental diasabled. 2-of them are pro-guns 1-is married to gun-freak.
My wifes side 1-LPN 4-EMT/first responders All five repeat horror-stories of the ER EVERY time we gather (they know i carry), When it comes to kids/guns they are espically vigalent of preaching against gun-violence,, I suppose if i saw it 1st-hand i would be too,,

Kid, here in lies the problem

GUN =/= viloence
there is a lack, in logic/debate it's called a fallacy (same root as FAIL) as in a failing to properly reason

These people -AMA, APA, etc.- link the gun and the violence without addressing the responsibility or culture of VIOLENCE that is the root of it all.

Sorry but, if gang banger didn't have guns, the would use knives, bats, cars, Molotov cocktails or just plain old beer mugs---YEPPERS, just like good 'ol England. Yet, by laying all the blame on the 'evil gun' they can continue to hold the 'poor victim' - Violent CRIMINAL- as simply a innocent.

The Lack of Responsibility is what steams me

My last full time job ended when I retired three years ago. It was a small clinic
with about 40 Docs. Half of them were CCW or avid hunters. A few were
strong gun control advocates. Many of the nurses, technologists and front
desk staff also carried and hunted. The clinic's location accounts for that.

My wife's OB-GYN is pro-gun. He teaches concealed-carry classes. It's nice because he doesn't care if we carry in the office and he has Guns & Ammo laying around in the waiting room.

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV.

I am a nurse and very pro-gun... several of the physicians i work with on a daily basis are also very pro gun... of course there are those on the other side of the fence... but they tend to be pretty closed minded about a lot more than guns.