As a person, I share the grief we all feel, and concern for the impact of this outrage on all it has touched.

As a doctor, I am compelled to respond.  It is in its ability to prevent needless tragedy that the medical profession is at its best.  Why wouldn’t the medical profession want to offer its best in response to the senseless loss of life in Connecticut?  Particularly since without doing something, it is likely to happen again.

You might consider an expectation of this happening again too pessimistic, but consider that in our nation, nearly 3,000 children are killed every year by being shot.  Compare this to the number of law enforcement officers who lose their lives every year across the country by being attacked, 75, and it becomes rapidly clear that something is so wrong, it may be time to do something about it.  As a pediatrician, American, and person, I can no longer ignore the urgency of protecting the next child’s life.

I have talked to many people since December 14, people from across the political spectrum, and for once I have found complete agreement- this must stop.  We may disagree on what will stop it, but everyone seems to agree that it is no longer acceptable.

And here is where the power of the medical profession may prove important.  Doctors have responded to a large number of causes of needless death, at times with dramatic success.  It is time for our profession to turn such expertise to this epidemic afflicting our children, and communities.  The process is always the same:

1. Determine the cause(s).
2. Determine the mechanism of how the cause(s) actually cause the problem.
3. Measure a variety of interventions to prove which one(s) work, and implement the best intervention(s).