Muslim Girl

[Easternemt]

Hello Emtlife,

I was just curious if anyone out there works with or has met any Muslim female EMTs/ paramedics who wear the head scarf?

I'm asking because its non existent in the area I live in. I have an interview next week and If I get hired I'll be the first in the county (sort of makes me nervous lol). Although I had a great Emt class and extremely educational and fun experience during my rides alongs, I had one patient refuse my care (a simple blood pressure check) because of my religious beliefs; which was made obvious to him because of the head scarf I wear. Thankfully the Emt and medic I was with helped comfort me after the situation.

Has anyone ever been in a similar situation where a patient has tried to refuse your care due to some type of discrimination (religious belief, race, disability, etc.) ?

Thank you in advance for any replies.

 

[JPINFV]

By head scarf, I'm going to assume hijab? I don't know any EMTs, but I know a ton of medical students, residents, and physicians who wear one (including the stealth* Muslim surgeon resident who just wears a surgical cap in the hospital. I was like, "Wait, is that ___?" when I saw her in the resident group photo.).


I haven't seen any discrimination focused at them and the only discrimination I've ever received is from a couple women during OB/Gyn (wait, one less set of lady parts to look at... sweet!). Granted, in the hospital or clinic at a teaching hospital it's much easier to hand patients off to someone else than working with just one other person in the field.



*I say "stealth" because seeing surgeons in surgeon caps isn't exactly something that makes anyone look twice.

 

[Craig Alan Evans]

I say stick to your beliefs. For every person who refuses your help there will be another who I absolutely comforted by it. The world needs to abolish treating people differently because of their beliefs and it will not happen by stealthily hiding behind a surgical hat. It will be accomplished by people like you delivering caring excellent care in a head dress and showing the people that your religious beliefs are not a factor. The key though is that you need to not be offended by their rejection. You need to stay professional and helpful at all times. It will not be easy, but the people who reject you for those beliefs are the ones that need to get closer to God. You need to be tolerant and patient with their ignorance while maintaining your faith.

 

[akflightmedic]

First, know that there will ALWAYS be some reason a person does not like you or will misjudge you. I have had people refuse care because I am male, I have had patients refuse care from me simply because we did not get a proper rapport established right away. It happens...not every encounter is going to be textbook perfect. The trick is knowing when you can or cannot overcome the challenge and if/when you should step aside and let your partner handle it. It just happens, but that is life.

Wearing the hijab might actually facilitate communications between you and your patients. It will also give you talking points during those transfers when the awkward silence sometimes arises. People will be curious so be prepared to talk about it or have a response which professionally and politely shuts down the conversation depending on how you feel.

Your coworkers...yep, many of them will talk. Then they will get to know you and then it will be cool. Some will resist and continue to look at you with prejudice. Again this is no different than what the gay, fat, skinny, black, yellow or really hairy (like me) go through.

As for this quote below... This is why we do not have peace in the world. Such strong opinions and assumptions..."if you do not believe as I do, then you need my god all the more"....seriously, when can we get away from this schtick and get down to basic human love and respect?

but the people who reject you for those beliefs are the ones that need to get closer to God. You need to be tolerant and patient with their ignorance while maintaining your faith.

 

[ExpatMedic0]

Reminds me of a response essay I had to write about Jackie Robinson, and a speech/essay he gave. Mr.Robinson's piece can be found here http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4536142
My thesis statement for the response paper was "In the essay by Jackie Robinson, titled “Free Minds and Hearts at Work” (1952), Mr. Robinson eloquently inspires me to fight against injustice, yet at the same time I believe his optimism inadvertently shrouds many cruel realities. "

I know its not exactly the same thing, but as you can see, the opinion I reached was mixed. Its great to have such inspiring people in the world, but the world itself is still quite cruel.

Craig and JP both offer sound advise, in fact I really dig JP's idea of still covering your hair, but doing it in a stealthy way (like with a surgeons cap). I have been working in the middle east off and on for 3 years now. I am a white guy covered in tattoo's and sometimes patients react to the fact I am quite different than them, and of course tattoos are "haram". I can not help the fact I am white, but I can cover my tattoo's, so I normally do. I am not saying any of these situations match your exact problem, but what I am saying is, I just hope it gives you some food for thought to reach your own decision about whats most important for you and your quality of life on and off work.

 

[RocketMedic]

As long as they don't let their religion define their interactions with others, I'm OK with it. That being said, the elephant in the room is public opinion and the perceptions of our patients. I've run racist old asshats with black partners and never had a problem, but at the same time, my partners were entirely professional, well-dressed and did not argue with patients, because that's not an argument to have. I'm not sure how a Muslim partner here in Oklahoma would be treated by a lot of our patients. My suspicion is that a female would be received far more easily than a male Muslim. Female Muslim in American minds = safe. Male Muslim in orthodox clothing = ?, and that's a shame.

Sadly, my time in Iraq was marred by quite a few 'Muslims' (entirely male) who did nothing but blame everyone else for their problems. Blaming Israel for your dermatitis, etc. It got frustrating after a while. Then again, these Muslims were anything but 'devout'.

Personally, the one type of partner I cannot stand is the ultra-devout, preachy Christian ones who attribute things to God.

 

[Tigger]

Personally, the one type of partner I cannot stand is the ultra-devout, preachy Christian ones who attribute things to God.

Me too. Nothing like downplaying your own work and instead chocking it up to a higher power.

I met a female Muslim EMT who wore hijab on the job, she worked for a larger competing company and no one ever said anything to her about it.

 

[Craig Alan Evans]

Me too. Nothing like downplaying your own work and instead chocking it up to a higher power.

I met a female Muslim EMT who wore hijab on the job, she worked for a larger competing company and no one ever said anything to her about it.

Sounds like Rocket and Tigger's tolerance needs a little work. I personally have no issues working with atheists---->devout christians, Muslims, it just doesn't matter. If it bothers you to work with someone of a particular belief system then I suggest you look inward and ask yourself why.

 

[STXmedic]

I can't stand working with a lot of people. That doesn't mean I don't work with them well and am uncivil toward them. Just because they have a bias against certain types of partners doesn't mean they're :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored::censored:s to them and don't tolerate them.

 

[abckidsmom]

Check the definition of "can't stand."

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=can't+stand

Language is powerful stuff. Imagine if I said "Wear the hijab if you want to, but I can't stand working with Muslims and their high standards of modesty."

That's living out intolerance. All intolerant language, no matter how flippant, is intolerant.

I believe that the God of the Bible created the earth in all is complexity, revealed it through science, and guides and strengthens me in my work. So, when I manage to pull off something pretty remarkable, I'm thankful to God in His inspiration, empowering me to git 'er done. That makes me a useful tool in the hand of an omnipotent God. I like it.

BTW- Muslims believe that too.

 

[firecoins]

Don't think it's a problem. If you want to work as an EMT, just do it. I'm Jewish and have zero problems with it. Have had Muslim partners. No problems.

 

[STXmedic]

Regardless of what I believe, and what others believe, I work civilly with every partner I've ever been paired with. I don't allow beliefs to get in the way of a professional relationship. I'm sure that's the case with Rocket and Tigger, as well. We should all be sure to google exact definitions of words and phrases before using them, for fear of somebody taking a definition down to the tee. I guess it's going to take me a while to write posts now that I have to worry about that. I can't stand it when it I have to constantly look up definitions.

 

[abckidsmom]

I can't stand it when it I have to constantly look up definitions.

That's pretty funny right there.

I'm just pointing out that if you defend intolerant language with promise of civil behavior, it's not the same as being actually tolerant.

Tolerance covers what you say in the presence of the situation you're tolerating, and what you say when they're not listening.

I would have thought someone having poetry in their username would be more into the language.

 

[Craig Alan Evans]

That's pretty funny right there.

I'm just pointing out that if you defend intolerant language with promise of civil behavior, it's not the same as being actually tolerant.

Tolerance covers what you say in the presence of the situation you're tolerating, and what you say when they're not listening.

I would have thought someone having poetry in their username would be more into the language.

That's pretty funny right there.

I'm just pointing out that if you defend intolerant language with promise of civil behavior, it's not the same as being actually tolerant.

Tolerance covers what you say in the presence of the situation you're tolerating, and what you say when they're not listening.

I would have thought someone having poetry in their username would be more into the language.

abc has a valid point there. We all understand the nuances of the English language and how to phrase a sentence properly to elicit our meaning. Saying that you are civil towards another is completely different than truly being tolerant. A good example of tolerance is defending another beliefs on an Internet forum even though you don't hold the same beliefs. I am not Muslim, but in my first response to EasternEMT I defended her right to follow her faith regardless of my beliefs. I used the word God in my answer and it stirred up a hornets nest. That's interesting. I think we all have something to learn here that is very germane to the EMS profession. We all deal with different cultures, races, faiths, and gender sensitive issues. I spent much of my life being civil as I considered myself a devout atheist. Now I am a devout Christian and Jesus has taught me to have Love for everyone. Having been on both sides of the fence I can attest that life is much more rewarding when it is full of love and that's one of Jesus's primary teachings during his short time here.

Regardless of your religious beliefs the following passage is well written and a good tenement to live by.

"But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke-Acts 6:27-35)

 

[STXmedic]

That's pretty funny right there.

I'm just pointing out that if you defend intolerant language with promise of civil behavior, it's not the same as being actually tolerant.

Tolerance covers what you say in the presence of the situation you're tolerating, and what you say when they're not listening.

I would have thought someone having poetry in their username would be more into the language.

You've got a point... I've got nothin'. Lol

Oh, I can certainly be well spoken; was just trying to make a point

 

[Tigger]

Sounds like Rocket and Tigger's tolerance needs a little work. I personally have no issues working with atheists---->devout christians, Muslims, it just doesn't matter. If it bothers you to work with someone of a particular belief system then I suggest you look inward and ask yourself why.

Come work a shift with me and see if you still think I "need to work on my tolerance."

I have my own beliefs, however I a) do not share them at work because I don't think it's appropriate and b) would never allow my opinion of other beliefs to affect the way I work with someone. The fact that someone's beliefs differ from mine does not matter, however I do not think that I need to listen to someone expound on their own position for entire shift.

So if I am an intolerant person because I can't stand being subjected someone rave on and on about their own personal beliefs while we are at work together, then I guess I am intolerant.

 

[Craig Alan Evans]

Come work a shift with me and see if you still think I "need to work on my tolerance."

I have my own beliefs, however I a) do not share them at work because I don't think it's appropriate and b) would never allow my opinion of other beliefs to affect the way I work with someone. The fact that someone's beliefs differ from mine does not matter, however I do not think that I need to listen to someone expound on their own position for entire shift.

So if I am an intolerant person because I can't stand being subjected someone rave on and on about their own personal beliefs while we are at work together, then I guess I am intolerant.

Honest answer. We often discuss our beliefs at work. We debate, we agree, we disagree all in a friendly environment. It just doesn't seem like a big deal to me to discuss things like this. You can't help but get to truly know the people you work with when you spend 56 hours a week together.

 

[Jon]

Alright folks.. Some of what folks are saying is steering close to "personal attacks"


I've seen women in EMS wearing headscarves before, always with long sleeves too. If that's your "thing"... Go for it. My only issue is "can you do the job" - patient care, lifting, ext - as long as you've got that, I don't care what color your skin is, or who you sleep with, or how you worship your G-d.

We are all one color... Blue. We have to count on each other.

 

[STXmedic]

We are all one color... Blue. We have to count on each other.

I don't like to bring up Acadian, either. :lol:

 

[Tigger]

Honest answer. We often discuss our beliefs at work. We debate, we agree, we disagree all in a friendly environment. It just doesn't seem like a big deal to me to discuss things like this. You can't help but get to truly know the people you work with when you spend 56 hours a week together.

That goes without saying. However, there is a difference between discussion and continual expounding.