Females

Clare said:
Wow, you sound like a real jerk.

I'm not saying female ambulance officers are not respected; I am curious as to what is the motivation behind the passing looks or comments of some of the public when a double female crew turns up that is only given to female ambulance officers and not female police or firefighters or doctors (in my experience). As Chase said, the same is given to male nurses as several of my friends are male nurses and they say the same thing, some people give you a look or a comment, in the ambulance service it seems to be predominantly older people, older females especially,

I am not talking about professional relationships between crews; I have had or seen or heard of any problems between male and female ambos but rather my interest lies with the public at large.
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Wow, thanks for that considering you don't know me.

I don't know how I am a jerk for stating the obvious. However the more I read your posts I am beginning to get a better picture of the real issue which seems to be you have the problem.

I have been a police officer (hence the LEO in my SN) and worked with some fine women cops. As an EMT I have been fortunate enough to work with some very intelligent and capable females. Every one of us whether male or female had to go through the same physical agility test. The test doesn't come in blue for boys and pink for girls.

Other than seeing a few drunks try to flirt with my partners, I have never seen any issues with female EMT's. I don't see it with the fire department, nor do I see it at the hospital.

There will always be jerks out there. I recently had a patient who was drunk and pregnant and she hated men. My female partner had no problems when she was teching the patient. But when I would move the stretcher I got a slew of insults and "don't drop me". Did it bother me? No.

I am not in this job to make patients happy. I am here to get them to the help they need. If they don't like my female partner then oh well so be it.

Several members of this board who are female have posted. You seem to be the only one that is letting this issue be a problem. If you can't handle people making comments because your female then maybe your too sensitive for this career.

Females are here to stay and I don't see a problem with it.
 
Ok, now you've had a chance to reply to the comment, Let It Go.
 
What about LGBT and how the public views them as an EMT?
 
Clare said:
I am more interested in why people think what they think rather than what they say or do; and why it seems to only be with a female ambulance crew, nobody says to the police if they are on scene and all the cops are female but they will make some comment about two female ambulance officers.
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I'm not sure any of us can tell you why people think what they think about female ambulance crews. Since we are the ones in the field we are going to have a different view on it than the people outside of the field.

Smarter people don't mouth off about female cops because they know the cop as a gun and handcuffs. Stupider people do mouth off about female cops and it never goes well for them.


Personally, I've heard people make comments about everyone who doesn't look like a stereotypical FF. So comments about too young/too old, female, pregnant, appearance of relative health (that man is sweating a lot is he ok to be doing hard work?). I live in a very Caucasian dominate area and people have made comments to our token dark guy (his name for himself, not mine) about how hard it must be.

If I had to hazard a guess people make the comments because their view of EMS is gained from TV, and they think what we do is way more dramatic than it actually is.
 
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Aidey said:
I'm not sure any of us can tell you why people think what they think about female ambulance crews. Since we are the ones in the field we are going to have a different view on it than the people outside of the field.

Smarter people don't mouth off about female cops because they know the cop as a gun and handcuffs. Stupider people do mouth off about female cops and it never goes well for them.


Personally, I've heard people make comments about everyone who doesn't look like a stereotypical FF. So comments about too young/too old, female, pregnant, appearance of relative health (that man is sweating a lot is he ok to be doing hard work?). I live in a very Caucasian dominate area and people have made comments to our token dark guy (his name for himself, not mine) about how hard it must be.

If I had to hazard a guess people make the comments because their view of EMS is gained from TV, and they think what we do is way more dramatic than it actually is.
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Asp to the face!
 
Aidey said:
I'm not sure any of us can tell you why people think what they think about female ambulance crews. Since we are the ones in the field we are going to have a different view on it than the people outside of the field.
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True, and I think people have presented some good reasons as to why it may be; generational, stereotypes, lack of knowledge, something other than the norm etc

Aidey said:
Smarter people don't mouth off about female cops because they know the cop as a gun and handcuffs. Stupider people do mouth off about female cops and it never goes well for them.
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True

Aidey said:
Personally, I've heard people make comments about everyone who doesn't look like a stereotypical FF. So comments about too young/too old, female, pregnant, appearance of relative health (that man is sweating a lot is he ok to be doing hard work?). I live in a very Caucasian dominate area and people have made comments to our token dark guy (his name for himself, not mine) about how hard it must be.
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Token dark guy, LOL.
 
Friend of mine had a patient's parents refuse transport because she thought they would drop her kid(the patient). It was a two female crew and it was an ift discharge call.

it varies from region to region I think. There's places where female medics are rare, just like there's places where african american medics are rare. I live ina big urban area. Most of the time when I work with a female partner we'll usually get one comment a shift about how I must be the muscle, my partner laughs it off and I'll comment something like "are you calling me dumb?" or since variance of that depending on the patient ofcourse.

Achilles said:
What about LGBT and how the public views them as an EMT?
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Just a comment, I don't think the public can tell most times. Since LGBT people who work EMS don't really wear a rainbow patch or anything.
 
Its not just female EMT's. We have three female LEOs on our department and they are not received well by anyone. The male cops think they are a liability and the public doesnt view them as a threat.

Women are viewed as weaker then men, and in a job like public safety where the perception is that strength is an important value women are percieved as a liability. Because the female EMT can lift the cot as well, the Female FF can carry a body as well, or the Female LEO cant handle herself in a fight as well. That means that i have to "look out" for them more than i would for a male in the same position.

Im 6'4 250lbs, I have never been in a drill as a EMT where two girls were able to lift and move me from a residence. I have never been in a drill with the FD where the female FF were able to successfully remove me from a "burning" house. I have been in ASP and CQC training and i have never lost to any of the female LEOs despite us going through the same training.

Our criminals know this. They look at a 6'4 male cop and think "He could kick my butt" whereas they look at a 5'10 female cop and think "I cant take her". Family looks at the same sized female EMT and think "how are they going to carry my loved one out of this house?"
 
No offense, but there are males of that size and nature working in EMS also, also MALES who are so out of shape and fat in EMS that your argument appears blatantly sexist to me.

Bullets said:
Its not just female EMT's. We have three female LEOs on our department and they are not received well by anyone. The male cops think they are a liability and the public doesnt view them as a threat.

Women are viewed as weaker then men, and in a job like public safety where the perception is that strength is an important value women are percieved as a liability. Because the female EMT can lift the cot as well, the Female FF can carry a body as well, or the Female LEO cant handle herself in a fight as well. That means that i have to "look out" for them more than i would for a male in the same position.

Im 6'4 250lbs, I have never been in a drill as a EMT where two girls were able to lift and move me from a residence. I have never been in a drill with the FD where the female FF were able to successfully remove me from a "burning" house. I have been in ASP and CQC training and i have never lost to any of the female LEOs despite us going through the same training.

Our criminals know this. They look at a 6'4 male cop and think "He could kick my butt" whereas they look at a 5'10 female cop and think "I cant take her". Family looks at the same sized female EMT and think "how are they going to carry my loved one out of this house?"
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I'm a male EMT, and I'm a big fan of working with female EMS providers -- it can be very helpful to have a female provider around with lots of patients. I've yet to have a problem with female providers not being able to lift – I vividly remember two 5'2", maybe 110 lbs female EMT students carrying, boarding, etc. a 6'2", 280 lbs ex-college football player.

Heck, I'm probably more of a liability than many female EMTs are: I'm only 5'7", 140 lbs.!
 
schulz said:
No offense, but there are males of that size and nature working in EMS also, also MALES who are so out of shape and fat in EMS that your argument appears blatantly sexist to me.
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The men i work with span a large range of heights and weights

The women are in a much smaller range. Ive never worked with a woman over 6ft.
 
New rule: Unless you're 6'4" and at least 200lbs you can't work LE, FD, or EMS :ph34r:

edit: off-topic, is there some way to get the board to stop emailing me every time someone replies to a thread?
 
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I know I can unsubscribe to specific threads there, but how do I stop it AUTO-subscribing me to threads I post in?
 
Kevinf said:
New rule: Unless you're 6'4" and at least 200lbs you can't work LE, FD, or EMS :ph34r:

edit: off-topic, is there some way to get the board to stop emailing me every time someone replies to a thread?
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If you cant pass the basic physical requirements then you cant be a FF, EMT or LEO. Our EMS agency has always had a test as part of the hiring process. One part was a written test, one part was a practical test with a medical and trauma component as well as a test of Ked/LBB/Hare traction picked at random. Initial this was done in a large room. We have added a lifting portion of the test. Applicants must carry a stairchair, jump bag and laptop up 3 flights. They must also carry a 300lb loaded reeves with a partner down 1 flight.
 
ffemt8978 said:
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Thanks!


Bullets said:
If you cant pass the basic physical requirements then you cant be a FF, EMT or LEO. Our EMS agency has always had a test as part of the hiring process. One part was a written test, one part was a practical test with a medical and trauma component as well as a test of Ked/LBB/Hare traction picked at random. Initial this was done in a large room. We have added a lifting portion of the test. Applicants must carry a stairchair, jump bag and laptop up 3 flights. They must also carry a 300lb loaded reeves with a partner down 1 flight.
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I have no issues with a physical test requirement. People will still judge someone based on sex and size though. No solution for that.
 
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n7lxi said:
We're about 25% female at my service. I actually like working a split crew, male and female, but haven't noticed any odd looks or ever heard any comments.
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Yeah. It's nice to have a female partner, at least on some of the calls.

I've never worked on an all-female crew... so I can't say I've had your problem, Clare ;)
 
I love working with females, they seem to brighten up the day.
But I have noticed many differences when I work with a female.

Just to name a few,

-I have seen my partners glared at by the public. Atleast once a shift.

-Firefighters are always ALOT nicer. Offering to help carry 300lb patients out of their homes when they normally would just leave the room.

I worked with a girl who has a normal female partner. She told me they had a female trainee. They ran into a patient who asked "So did they put three of you together since you're not as strong as the guys?"

Female EMTs definitely don't receive the respect they deserve.
 
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