SAFE April Newsletter

April 2025 SAFE Newsletter

Table of Contents:

SAFE’s Mission & Goals
SAFE’s Education on Policy Solutions Series: Secure Storage in 6-parts
Workshops on Firearm Injury Prevention Curriculum
Welcome Dr. Stephen Hargarten and Dr. Jasman Kaur
Register for Fall StandSAFE with Dr. Brian H. Williams
Get a SAFE Scrub Top
“Clinicians and Firearms” Course Distribution Packet

SAFE’s mission:
To ensure that all healthcare providers are equipped with skills and evidence-based knowledge to advise their patients, communities, and legislators on firearm use and ownership to prevent injuries and deaths.

Pictured are (L-R) three of SAFE’s Founding Board members, Drs. Sarabeth Spitzer, Julie Parsonnet, and Susie MacLean.

SAFE’s Goals

Make firearm injury prevention education a priority at every US medical school.
Be the leading source of medical education materials on effective ways for medical schools to teach firearm injury prevention strategies to their medical students.
Provide current and future physicians the skills necessary to engage patients, communities, legislators on public health driven solutions for firearm injury prevention.
Develop a robust research wing of SAFE to establish evidence-based best practices for medical student firearm prevention education.

MONDAY, APRIL 21 at NOON CENTRAL TIME
SECURE STORAGE ADVOCACY EVENT

This 6-part series will prepare medical students and healthcare professionals to be knowledgeable and effective advocates for evidence-based secure firearm storage and child access prevention policies. Check out Sessions 1 and 2.

Join us for Session 3: Monday, April 21 at Noon Central Time: Featuring Dr. Brian H. Williams from SAFE's Board of Directors, and Sean Holihan from Giffords, and state-based Wisconsin Anti Violence Effort. Co-hosted by SAFE's chapter medical student leaders at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, the session will feature:

1. Coaching on tone, power of storytelling and anecdotes, perseverance
2. The importance of relationship building with legislative aides
3. How Wisconsin's Day of Action at the State Capitol will work and how to host something similar in your state.

SAFE hosting series of in-person workshops for Firearm Injury Prevention Education Curriculum

The pilot workshop held in Madison, Wisconsin in March was to collaborate to develop curriculum on firearm injury prevention with curriculum leaders and medical students in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, and it was a success!

Picture shows medical student panelists speaking about their experience in learning about firearm injury prevention and what they hope future medical students can learn.

Twenty-five individuals from seven medical schools gathered at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and heard from individuals in firearm culture (veterans, police, hunters), and actively engaged with medical students and firearm violence survivors to understand perspectives and perceived educational needs in firearm injury prevention education.

A follow-up workshop is scheduled and will be co-hosted at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee on Friday, October 17 - Saturday, October 18.

If you are involved in working on curriculum at your institution in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan, or are a medical student at one of the 16 medical schools in those five states and are interested in attending in October, fill out the form below so we can share more details with you.

If you are are in a different state but are very interested in learning how to develop curriculum at your institution and are interested in coming to Milwaukee in October, we welcome you to fill out the form as well.

PRE-REGISTER for WORKSHOP #2 in OCTOBER.

SAFE Welcomes Dr. Stephen Hargarten and Dr. Jasman Kaur

Welcome to a new member of SAFE’s National Board of Directors, Dr. Jasmanpreet Kaur, and a new member of SAFE’s National Advisory Board, Dr. Stephen Hargarten. We are thrilled to have them both join SAFE’s leadership team.

Stephen Hargarten, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Link to his recent message at JAMA Summit that brought together industry leaders to focus on the topic of reducing firearm violence and harms.

Jasman Kaur, MD, is finishing her first year of residency training at the University of California San Francisco. As a medical student, she led her SAFE chapter at Michigan State University and made huge strides in advocating for incorporating firearm injury prevention into the curriculum.

Register for September 9th StandSAFE event with Dr. Brian H. Williams

On Sept 9, 2025 SAFE will hold its semi-annual event - StandSAFE
at 8 PM Eastern Time/ 5 PM Pacific, one of SAFE’s two annual events that are open to all clinicians and trainees. Brian H. Williams, MD, FACS, is a member of SAFE’s National Board of Directors, and will share the critical shift from federal to state policies in firearm injury prevention work.

Dr. Williams is a trauma surgeon, a USAF veteran, former congressional health policy advisor, and nationally recognized expert in firearm injury prevention and healthcare disparities; writer and bestselling author of "The Bodies Keep Coming"

While registering for the free event IS required, reading the book in advance is not. However, we hope you pick up a copy and add it to your reading list before Sept.9 . It is an excellent book that you can purchase directly from the publisher.

Register for SEPT. 9th Event

Purchase “The Bodies Keep Coming”

SAFE Scrub Tops!

There are two ways to get a SAFE scrub top and lapel pin:

Donate $150 or more (or $12.50/month)
Join (or start) a SAFE Chapter!

DONATE

Those donating, please put your scrub top size in the comment box.

SAFE Chapters: If you have not yet submitted your chapter rosters to receive your SAFE scrub tops, please do! Roster

Not sure if your medical school has a SAFE Chapter? See here.

“Clinicians and Firearms” Course Distribution Packet

Click to access and download the course distribution packet. Includes tools for chapters to promote, host watch party.

“Clinicians and Firearms” was created for medical students in their 2-4 year of medical training, but are also suitable and targeted to practicing physicians who are not likely to have received any training in firearm safety or injury prevention during their medical training.

We created the “Clinicians and Firearms” curriculum to be readily adopted into pre-existing programming. Although the course is intended to be completed in its entirety, individual components can be treated as stand-alone to best accommodate program scheduling and goals.

WATCH “CLINICIANS & FIREARMS”

SAFE -Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic
P.O. Box 5424
Madison, WI 53705