Beards and AMR

Well, usually it's the employer who provides the respirator and it's their responsibility that the respirator gets properly tested, filters exchanged, etc. A PAPR is not a simple piece of equipment so the employer may be reluctant to allow an employee to buy their own.

OSHA has tried to clarify the issue of religious beards and respirators, which you may find of interest:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=22138

Importantly, per the interpretation, while OSHA and the Civil Rights Act don't require employers to provide a PAPR, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might.

Having said that, some EMS employees do provide PAPRs to their EMTs routinely, which is something you should investigate when you apply for a job. Good luck with the exam!
 
Here in AMR Riverside no facial hair below the mouth so:

Mustache is ok, but beard is a no no
 
Markhk said:
Well, usually it's the employer who provides the respirator and it's their responsibility that the respirator gets properly tested, filters exchanged, etc. A PAPR is not a simple piece of equipment so the employer may be reluctant to allow an employee to buy their own.

OSHA has tried to clarify the issue of religious beards and respirators, which you may find of interest:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=22138

Importantly, per the interpretation, while OSHA and the Civil Rights Act don't require employers to provide a PAPR, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might.

Having said that, some EMS employees do provide PAPRs to their EMTs routinely, which is something you should investigate when you apply for a job. Good luck with the exam!
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Thanks
 
For the Jewish guy,

If you get an interview I would play it cool and get through it your best, then at the end I would mention your beard/ religious beliefs and I would mention you could provide your own protective mask if needed for fit testing and work. goodluck
 
I just interviewed last Friday with AMR here in NM. As long as my N-95 fits correctly, then I can keep my well-kept goatee. I'll find out tommorow morning.
 
mcgrubbs said:
I just interviewed last Friday with AMR here in NM. As long as my N-95 fits correctly, then I can keep my well-kept goatee. I'll find out tommorow morning.
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Is LC still the only AMR in NM? I know I worked in the northern portion of the state and never saw a single AMR rig (ABQ and up)
 
AMR handles Otero County and Dona Ana County.

I did the lift test and physical this morning. My well-kept/trimmed goatee was just fine with a N-95 mask.




Also, just FYI. My test was the 3-minute step-up/step-off w/ an old step aerobic platform about 12-15" tall, Then a series of lifts with 90lbs; floor to short platform, then to a higher platform, down to short platform, up to 40" off ground; then up and back down three stairs 3x. All that was practice.

Do all the lifts again w/ 120lbs for real test.
 
I'm a Jewish guy with a beard. Never had no problems with N95, but that's cause my service never fitted us or trained us on it. I won't be rushing into a burning building any time soon, so SCBA isn't at issue for me.
 
bstone said:
I'm a Jewish guy with a beard. Never had no problems with N95, but that's cause my service never fitted us or trained us on it. I won't be rushing into a burning building any time soon, so SCBA isn't at issue for me.
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As an EMT did you not get any type of infection control training in school or was none offered to you by your employer? Have you, an a healthcare worker not known of why an N95 is used? You do have the right to have personal protection equipment and you as an EMT should be able to take some responsibility for requesting it to protect yourself.

With the recent headline from Oakland, CA, AMR may take personal protection very seriously in the future.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/20/BAR71D1FT0.DTL
 
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VentMedic said:
As an EMT did you not get any type of infection control training in school or was none offered to you by your employer? Have you, an a healthcare worker not known of why an N95 is used? You do have the right to have personal protection equipment and you as an EMT should be able to take some responsibility for requesting it to protect yourself.

With the recent headline from Oakland, CA, AMR may take personal protection very seriously in the future.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/20/BAR71D1FT0.DTL
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Nope. Never in my Basic or Intermediate schooling did they even talk about masks. My service and none of the coned I have ever done even mentioned the idea of N95. The first time I heard about it was when I was volunteering in the Gulf Coast after Katrina. Plenty of people then had beards and were wearing N95s. They had beards due to reasons like all the razors having been washed out to sea and there being no electricity due to the storm.
 
bstone said:
Nope. Never in my Basic or Intermediate schooling did they even talk about masks. My service and none of the coned I have ever done even mentioned the idea of N95.
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Sad statement for EMS education or at least in your area.

bstone said:
The first time I heard about it was when I was volunteering in the Gulf Coast after Katrina. Plenty of people then had beards and were wearing N95s. They had beards due to reasons like all the razors having been washed out to sea and there being no electricity due to the storm.
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Our medical volunteers in Katrina still had some basic necessities to ensure their safety such as the proper mask and other personal protection for the conditions. If you do not have the proper equipment or training and risk becoming a patient yourself, one should not enter into such a situation. An EMT with no infection control training or any idea about masks as personal protection should NOT be allowed to volunteer until they do complete the proper training and have the proper equipment.
 
VentMedic said:
Sad statement for EMS education or at least in your area.
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You just might be right. Tho I went to two programs in states far apart from each other, so I guess my "area" is the United States.

Our medical volunteers in Katrina still had some basic necessities to ensure their safety such as the proper mask and other personal protection for the conditions. If you do not have the proper equipment or training and risk becoming a patient yourself, one should not enter into such a situation. An EMT with no infection control training or any idea about masks as personal protection should NOT be allowed to volunteer until they do complete the proper training and have the proper equipment.
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We were desperate for help and were not discriminating on the basis of not having been fitted for an N95 mask. Moreover, we didn't need to wear N95 masks in the clinics. You only needed them when you tried to walk into the remains of a structure which had black mold.
 
bstone said:
We were desperate for help and were not discriminating on the basis of not having been fitted for an N95 mask. Moreover, we didn't need to wear N95 masks in the clinics. You only needed them when you tried to walk into the remains of a structure which had black mold.
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Were you in the group that came two weeks after?

For awhile there were many EMTs just showing up from who knows where claiming to be who knows what trying to be part of the action.
 
bstone said:
I was one of those EMTs who "just showed up". I ended up being pretty successful:

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/41301
http://www.dce.harvard.edu/pubs/lamplighter/2006/spring/mississippi.html
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If you have those qualifications, why haven't you suggested to your company and the local schools that they should instruct the EMTs on a little infection control? Is it because of your beard? Is it that if you do take the fit test there is no way you will pass and would have to come up with another type of protection which might be at your cost?
 
VentMedic said:
If you have those qualifications, why haven't you suggested to your company and the local schools that they should instruct the EMTs on a little infection control? Is it because of your beard? Is it that if you do take the fit test there is no way you will pass and would have to come up with another type of protection which might be at your cost?
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Um, what? I did not understand your question. Please rephrase.
 
If you have those qualifications (all the education as stated in the news article), why haven't you suggested to your company and the local schools that they should instruct the EMTs on a little infection control?

Is it because of your beard? Is it that if you do take the mask fit test there is no way you will pass and would have to come up with another type of protection which might be at your cost?

In other words, someone with a beard will not or should not pass (some lie to pass) a mask fit test because a strand of hair is much thicker then the little microbe that can do harm to you. If you have any of the knowledge as stated in the article, are you afraid to request masks and infection control procedures be implemented as they might then bring your beard into question? If your company doesn't provide respiratory protection now, there is a good chance you might be told to shave or buy your own.
 
VentMedic said:
If you have those qualifications (all the education as stated in the news article), why haven't you suggested to your company and the local schools that they should instruct the EMTs on a little infection control?

Is it because of your beard? Is it that if you do take the mask fit test there is no way you will pass and would have to come up with another type of protection which might be at your cost?

In other words, someone with a beard will not or should not pass (some lie to pass) a mask fit test because a strand of hair is much thicker then the little microbe that can do harm to you. If you have any of the knowledge as stated in the article, are you afraid to request masks and infection control procedures be implemented as they might then bring your beard into question? If your company doesn't provide respiratory protection now, there is a good chance you might be told to shave or buy your own.
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None of the above. I haven't brought it up or asked about it because I am currently not riding the bus. I am too busy in school to work on the bus. I do, however, participate in ConEd and am up on my NREMT cert.

I can't help but to notice, however, that your choice of words seems to cast doubt on my education level. Is it just me or are you suggestion just that?
 
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