By Dr. Latebloomer
Some gun colleagues and I were having a conversation recently and someone mentioned a “SHTF Office Gun.” I remember laughing to myself, saying something like, ‘Sheesh, can you imagine having a pediatric office SHTF gun?’ That would go over like a lead balloon (no pun intended).
But when you really think about it, we are a soft target, located close to a school. This startling reality was pointed out to me by a different friend when we were talking about Stop the Bleed recently.
I have a lot of friends who get paid to think about and plan for ‘SHTF’ scenarios. Nobody gives them a hard time about that because they are LE and EMS types. Their job is to think the un-thinkable.
But upon serious reflection, I get paid to think about bad things happening, too. It’s my job to think about awful things that happen to kids, and how best to make sure those things don’t happen, or to catch them quickly if they do. Vaccination, regular growth and development screening, monitoring and treating infections, following up on suspicious neurological signs…all of those things are part of my job.
So why is it unthinkable to plan for a violent drug addict or a nutcase mass shooter taking his “Plan B” to our office from the school down the street? Hell, some of the parents our practice sees are drug addicts. Our staff has people lose their shit at them on a semi-regular basis. Why then is it terrible of me to think about a response to these potential events?
This shouldn’t be un-thinkable. It should be eminently thinkable and planned for. But the American Academy of Pediatrics treats guns as if they’re a disease rather than a “vaccine” against dangerous predators. So you won’t find any office security recommendations on the AAP website. In fact, many parents would have an absolute cow if they thought a firearm was on the premises, just like they have a cow over the idea of armed teachers in schools.
All I want to do is keep a lead injection device handy in case of such an attack. But my practice partner would defecate a cinderblock if I did, so realistically it’s never going to happen. We have lit EXIT signs, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, and every other building safety device as required by law. But nothing with which to protect ourselves should a violent person try to invade the premises.
With the wheels in my head already turning, I started thinking about some of those un-thinkable things as if I were writing a gritty urban fantasy novel or something. I started playing “what if?”. Except this stuff isn’t fantasy, it’s reality. Violent things do happen in this world. The chances of it happening specifically here are statistically tiny, but it pays to be prepared.
I started thinking…what if we went on lockdown due to an active shooter event at the school down the street? We have inner hallways away from windows where we could shelter people. We have more than one entrance, but only the main entrance is unlocked.
If we were notified by law enforcement of such an event, that door could be quickly dead-bolted. Somebody could shoot out a window for entry I suppose, but there isn’t a lot to do about building design after the fact. And installing bullet-resistant glass seems like cost-prohibitive overkill in a building that’s over sixty years old.
If I kept a SHTF firearm at the office, it would have to be locked up. That’s non-negotiable. I’m frequently away from my desk seeing patients and there are tiny humans with curious fingers wandering all over the place. I also can’t realistically carry on-body during work hours as little children have no boundaries and are always patting on me and invading my personal space. I would be “made” in short order.
I’m thinking an AR pistol might be a viable option because of the smaller size, magazine capacity, maneuverability, velocity, and red dot.
Secure storage for such a SHTF gun would be essential. SecureIt has combination lock bolt-on safes that might work under my desk top such as the Fast box 40 and Fastbox 47. I bought a model 47 for home use, so it might work in the office too.
This would be strictly a defensive gun, obviously. I’m not Wonder Woman. Realistically, I’m not going to be clearing the building.
In the case of a lockdown, after we got everyone herded into interior rooms away from windows and doors, I’d be hunkered down behind cover watching a door that might get kicked in while we wait for the SWAT team to arrive or for law enforcement to announce the all clear. I don’t have any illusions of heroism beyond trying to protect my office staff and patients.
It might sound crazy. It might sound “unthinkable.” But if I, as the firearm owner of the practice, don’t think about it, who will?
When I did an internet search for information about medical office security, I got all kinds of hits related to HIPAA and information security, but very little about the physical security of the building and the protection of staff and patients.
Dr. John Edeen of Doctors For Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO) has done a good deal of work regarding hospital vulnerability and advocating for workplace carry rules, but I haven’t seen much out there for medical office safety. Maybe I’m just not looking in the right place.
There is precedent here. Has everyone forgotten about the psychiatrist who defended himself and hisstaff with his own handgun in 2014?
As much as no one likes to think about it, when it comes right down to it, a SHTF office gun may be one of the few cost-effective options we have to keep our staff and patients safe in the event of a violent attack.
’Dr. LateBloomer’ is the pen name of a female general pediatrician (MD, MPH, FAAP) who enjoys competitive shooting sports, including IDPA, USPSA and 3-Gun. Evil semi-automatic firearms are her favorites.
This article originally appeared at drgo.us and is reprinted here with permission.