Emergency Nurses Association Debuts Firearms Injury Prevention Education Program
April 14, 2021 • American Academy of Pediatrics Education Emergency Department Emergency Nurses Association Firearms Injury Prevention
Online resources aim to assist ED nurses identify, assess and counsel patients at-risk for harm
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (April 14, 2021) – New resources released by the Emergency Nurses Association on Wednesday provide tools and information emergency nurses can use to help patients who might be at risk for firearm injuries or death.
The Firearms Injury Prevention Education program features a webinar, online learning modules and a podcast series focused on identifying patients who might be in danger and the steps ED nurses can take to assess, educate and provide follow-up care to those individuals to reduce the possibility of them facing harm based on firearm accessibility.
“Asking about access to firearms is often viewed as a difficult topic, but it is truly a vital screening question for any nurse who has concerns about their patient’s mental health or physical well-being,” said ENA President Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, EMT, CEN, ACNS-BC, TCRN. “This program offers every ED nurse practical tools and guidance that can be used from triage to discharge with patients of all ages who present with potential risk factors.”
To help launch the program, the ENA Podcast’s latest episode provides an overview focused on promoting firearm safety among ED patients. The webinar and learning modules give nurses the tools to identify age-specific risk factors; triage and assessment guidelines; discharge education; and tips on how to approach the topic of firearm accessibility within the context of injury prevention and safety.
With the Firearm Safety Conversation Series, nurses can hear from experts who discuss prevention of firearm injury or death among at-risk pediatric, adult or older adult patients, and those involved in domestic or intimate partner violence.
The program’s resources are supported, in part, by the American Academy of Pediatrics Friends of Children Fund.
“As pediatric emergency physicians, we see firsthand the devastating – and preventable – tragedies involving children and firearms. We know having unlocked guns in the home increases the risk of both unintentional and intentional gun injuries and deaths, and we also know we can do something about it,” said Lois Lee, MD, MPH, FAAP, a member of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention Executive Committee. “These resources will help nurses and emergency department health care providers by offering valuable tools on how to recognize when families are at risk and ways to broach the topic of whether they have safely secured their firearms.”
Learn more about the Firearms Injury Prevention program by visiting ena.org/education.
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About the American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the optimal health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.
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