after 10+ years of practice, nothing amazes me anymore. but, i do have to say i am shocked by a lot of the arguments in this thread. not by everyone, but by some. i have heard so many people rant about this and that. apparently, i have some ego and live to practice in a tyrannical manner; i guess to make people miserable and to take their guns away. NONE OF WHICH I EVER SAID. i am in a guns forum! clearly i am not anti-gun. i love going to the range and became a member of a rod & gun club recently. i am not trying to tell people what to do with their life. in fact, i was clear that i will not force anyone to seek medical care. if you are an adult of sound mind then it is your choice. you can smoke, drink, whatever. personally, if it does not hurt me then do as you like. professionally, it is my job.
police officers have their training and responsibility. i may not agree with all of it, but i respect it. i have been shown zero respect by most in this particular thread. i find that somewhat disappointing. especially since i stated that i do not wish to take away anyone's rights EXCEPT for those that are not mentally competent for whatever reason...acute or chronic. if you do not like that, oh well. I am sorry, but if you do not practice medicine and see what truly goes on in the minds of some people then don't preach to me because you simply do not have the experience. i would never tell someone how to fix my car. i don't know anything about that.
so, what is the point? not as grave as many here seem to make it. people here are so preoccupied with defending their rights that some fail to listen and truly think things thru before going on the attack. the reality is MDs, NPs, and PAs are charged with the responsibility to care for the health of those that seek their care. if you seek care and do not like the medical standards put in place at the Federal and State levels then you are out of luck. this is our standard of practice. it is what we follow in the USA. it is what is taught. for the most part, it works. certainly not every time, but it helps more people than hurts for sure. nobody says you have to answer anything. in the end, it only hurts you.
if someone was in acute renal failure and answers "No" to guns then a provider in the ER might spend hours searching for other causes when the actual problem could have been elevated lead levels. but, your "No" so protected you up until the point you needed to reveal that info for help. you see, we don't use info to hurt people. things are always kept confidential UNLESS you truly show signs of being a danger at that very moment in time. people do have mental illness and do show very serious signs of danger to oneself and others. should we turn away and allow them to injure some innocent person? if you say yes then you are so caught up in preserving the 2A that you lost sight of what is really important.
i hope people can see that Docs and nurses are there to serve you. We do our best. I don't want your gun. i want everyone to be happy, safe, and in good health.
sorry for the long post.