Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Bioethical Analysis of Healthcare Professionals' and Healthcare Institutions' Moral Obligations During Active Shooter Incidents in Hospitals — A Narrative Review of the Literature
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online June, 2020
Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Bioethical Analysis of Healthcare Professionals' and Healthcare Institutions' Moral Obligations During Active Shooter Incidents in Hospitals — A Narrative Review of the Literature
Active shooter incidents (ASI) have unfortunately become a common occurrence the world over. There is no country, city, or venue that is safe from these tragedies, and healthcare institutions are no exception. Healthcare facilities have been the targets of active shooters over the last several decades, with increasing incidents occurring over the last decade. People who work in healthcare have a professional and moral obligation to help patients. As concerns about the possibility of such incidents increase, how should healthcare institutions and healthcare professionals understand their responsibilities in preparation for and during ASI?
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Bruce Goldfeder is a Florida based Emergency Room physician who while working, distracted and disarmed an armed intruder. “Goldfeder, who was shot in the back of his neck confronting and disarming the shooter, described those moments to The Palm Beach Post on Thursday night from his home, where he was recovering from his wound; ‘I heard gunshots go off, and they seemed to become louder and closer to me,’ Gold-feder recalled. ‘So I turned around from my hidden position, and I saw a man with a gun in his hand. He looked at me and he was close-range to the other doctors.’” “VA Center shooting: ‘I've been shot’; Doctor describes confrontation with gunman,” J. Whigham, II, The Palm Beach Post, March 1, 2019, available at <https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190301/va-center-shooting-ive-been-shot-doctor-describes-confrontation-with-gunman> (last visited May 7, 2020).
