Firearm Safety Counseling for Patients: An Interactive Curriculum for Trauma Providers

Date of Review: June, 2022

This resource, from MedEdPortal, is a 30-minute didactic lecture and 30-minute role-play with standardized patients over Zoom designed for trauma providers to increase counseling on safe firearm storage for trauma patients. The learners consisted of general surgery (GS) residents, emergency medicine (EM) residents, and trauma nurse practitioners (NPs) at UC Davis Health, a level 1 pediatric and adult trauma center in Sacramento, California. The aim of this training session was to initiate counseling on safe storage of firearms with trauma patients, as there is an increased risk of future traumatic injuries for patients who experience traumatic events. The didactic session was a short lecture that covered firearm injury statistics in the United States, the association of traumatic injuries with unsafe storage practices, the benefit of this counseling, and local and national laws surrounding firearms. Following the didactic session, the learners were separated into groups of five or six to begin interactive sessions with standardized patients to apply the new knowledge in clinical practice. There would be a simulated clinical practice for 7 minutes followed by a 3 minutes of feedback on the learners performance by other learners and the standardized patient. Learners completed a pre- and post-didactic survey which observed their prior experience with firearms, knowledge related to firearm storage, self-efficacy in providing firearm storage counseling, and attitudes towards firearms. The didactic lecture would be easy to integrate and the case studies are a good way to apply the knowledge, SP guides are also included which make integration easier, however an expert facilitator would be needed in order to debrief the cases. –Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

scstokes@ucdavis.edu

Institution:

UC Davis Health

Where was the Curriculum Implemented:

Sacramento, California

Clinical Specialty

Emergency Medicine, Trauma

Outcomes that Have Been Reported for the Curriculum:

Self-reported learner attitude

Self-reported learner knowledge

Self-reported learner behavior in simulated setting

Measured learner behavior in simulated setting

Outcome and Study Design:

Pre/post

Level of Learner Assessment

Appreciation of content/attitude assessment (self-reflection, blogging with rubric)

Demonstration of skill in a controlled environment (OSCE, Simulation)