New Perspective Offers Insights Into Active Shooter Training in Health Care

In an article published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Sarah Berry, MD, MPH, shares her perspective about active shooter training as a health care professional and mother.

Dr. Berry, in “Active Shooter Trainings for Health Care Professionals—Are We Helping or Hurting the Problem?”, describes her visceral reaction upon initiating an online continuing education course. “My stomach felt sick as soon as I opened the new online continuing education course: active shooter training,” she writes. The reaction stems not only from the depiction of gun violence in the course but also from her experience as a mother watching the impact gun training has had on her son. “It saddens me that my teenage son has normalized gun violence in his school.” 

This candid account underscores the profound impact such training can have on medical staff, who are already navigating high-stress environments.

Dr. Berry is a senior scientist at Hebrew SeniorLife’s Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and chief of the Division of Gerontology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Her article examines the complexities of preparing health care workers for the possibility of violent incidents within medical facilities. Dr. Berry noted that the training “offered good information on what to do in a dangerous situation,” but that “limited research exists on the impact of gun violence prevention programs” and that training “should include resources for reporting and responding to patients in crisis.”

She emphasized a significant omission from standard training modules for health care professionals. “Mass shooting fatalities make up less than 1% of all firearm-related deaths. In comparison, suicide comprises more than 50% of gun fatalities. Active shooter training for health care professionals should consider education about other firearm-related injuries, to strengthen the ability of health care workers to address firearm safety with patients.”

According to Dr. Berry, another issue is that “the active shooter training lacked attention to its emotional repercussions. Distributing active shooter training alongside handwashing modules minimizes the expected emotional impact that gun violence training deserves.”

She calls for “improving active shooter training for health care professionals to include a focus on prevention, acknowledge the range of gun violence including suicide, and include support resources… Through improved training and discussion, health care providers will be reminded that gun violence is not inevitable.” 

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 4,500 seniors a day across campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; Jack Satter House, Revere; and Leyland Community, Dorchester. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $98 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 500 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.