Vol. Voice- Looking the part:Why our appearance matters when we’re responding to call

[skyemt]

you know, in my parts, which are pretty rural, none of the agencies have "uniforms"... we have shirts and jackets, and are easily identifiable.. we don't have boots, we don't have trousers...

however, i do not think that takes away from my patient care, as it is standard for the area. if 5 agencies wear uniforms, but one doesn't, perhaps they won't seem as "professional"... but that's not the case in my area.

it is easy to make generalizations, but not everone is in the same situation... i'd take a great emt in a polo over a mediocre one with polished boots and ironed shirts anytime.

sorry, but clothes do not make the EMT.

 

[firecoins]

.. we don't have boots, we don't have trousers...

you probably put some pants on before taking a call.B)

however, i do not think that takes away from my patient care, as it is standard for the area. if 5 agencies wear uniforms, but one doesn't, perhaps they won't seem as "professional"... but that's not the case in my area.

Has nothing to so with other agencies. Its putting patients at ease. They want to know that you know what your doing. The more professional that you look, the better.

it is easy to make generalizations, but not everone is in the same situation... i'd take a great emt in a polo over a mediocre one with polished boots and ironed shirts anytime.

This is about the patient. Not about EMS providers. Your clothing helps set a mood that you are a capable EMT. Clothes don't make the EMT but thye make the pateint relax easier knowing they aren't in the hands of someone who may not know what they are doing.

 

[BossyCow]

you know, in my parts, which are pretty rural, none of the agencies have "uniforms"... we have shirts and jackets, and are easily identifiable.. we don't have boots, we don't have trousers...

however, i do not think that takes away from my patient care, as it is standard for the area. if 5 agencies wear uniforms, but one doesn't, perhaps they won't seem as "professional"... but that's not the case in my area.

it is easy to make generalizations, but not everone is in the same situation... i'd take a great emt in a polo over a mediocre one with polished boots and ironed shirts anytime.

sorry, but clothes do not make the EMT.

Sky, I'm also a volly and I keep a pullover sweatshirt in my car with the department logo on the front and "Fire and Rescue" on the back. It identifies me as being with an agency, rather than just a lookie-loo on scene. I think it does impact pt care indirectly, because it influences your attitude going in. Taking the effort to look professional will change your demeanor towards your patient and the patient's impression of you.

Also, responding from home or work (as I do) especially to an MVA, having that uniform or some other identification will speed your passage through the uniforms at the edge of the event whose job is to keep out the non-essential personnel. We actually had an officer refused access to an MVA by law enforcement because she didn't have proper ID. (Actually worked out well, things always ran smoother without her on scene!)

 

[skyemt]

you probably put some pants on before taking a call.B)

Has nothing to so with other agencies. Its putting patients at ease. They want to know that you know what your doing. The more professional that you look, the better.

This is about the patient. Not about EMS providers. Your clothing helps set a mood that you are a capable EMT. Clothes don't make the EMT but thye make the pateint relax easier knowing they aren't in the hands of someone who may not know what they are doing.

nah, nothing makes a patient feel more relaxed than an emt who shows up in his underwear...

but really, don't take yourself too seriously because you have a "uniform" on, ok?

it is all about the patient, not the emt.. that is exactly the point... when i greet the patient, and begin to assess, they will know whether they trust me or not, and whether they feel i know what i am doing... it is about the human contact and caring between provider and patient.

there are many ways to look and act professional, and a "uniform" is not the only way... don't get hung up on this issue, and take your eye off the ball.

 

[Jon]

Personally I love being im my uniform so when i see other people really dressed down it boggles my mind. One time i saw a crew in flip-flops a t-top and a bathing suit, how can you expect to show up on scene and be taken seriously? For get the fact that your feet and much more skin is uncovered but that dress is crossing the line. I do think its okay to wear jeans, ambulance corp t shirt and boots though if you are responding for a second rig. But I love!!! being in my uniform.

I think the only time I'd be caught on an ambulance in a swimsuit and flip-flops would be if I witnessed an arrest at the pool

 

[EMTGUY12]

I would have to agree that looking professional counts. I got certified in high school and one day I was buzzing around town on a moped in crocs, gym shorts, and a cut-off when the pager went off. I just happened to be about 60 ft. from the house(small town I was a volly) I showed up and the pt. refused my care until my much older and casual but clean partners showed up in the rig. Now I work for a volly/paid ambulance and uniform isn't required but it's preferred and I enjoy wearing my uniform, ppl listen to you when you look professional

 

[upstateemt]

So glad to see the positive response to this thread. The article was brought to our squad meeting this week by an individual who thought it was "ridiculous". The rest of us didn't know how to respond because we are in total agreement with the concept.

As a volunteer it isn't always possible to respond in a "uniform" but a clean department T shirt and pants are not that difficult to manage. I keep a pair of EMT pants and a polo hanging on my bedroom door, it only takes a moment to pull them on. Some squad members keep a polo in their car and throw it on while running the scene.

Sadly, the one person who thought it "ridiculous" is also the one who responds to calls in pj's or shorts and a tank top (with no bra:blush.

Our patients may not really care what we are wearing but a neat clean (well covered) appearance can go a long way toward making them feel confident in our abilities.

 

[JPINFV]

First off, I think we need to define uniform here because people are discounting some uniforms in this thread. A service t-shirt and EMT pants is a uniform. It might not be a good or professional uniform, but it is still a uniform. Similarly, at my water park EMT-B job, the uniform was shorts and a polo shirt. While completely inappropriate for an EMS job, it was perfectly fine for that situation.

One of the most important things that a uniform does is provide legitimacy. Legitimacy is one method that grants authority (in contrast to, for example, force). It is much more likely that an EMT-B in uniform, even a bad uniform, would be given much more respect from a patient and bystanders than a paramedic or physician in street clothes simply because the basic's uniform shows that he is supposed to be there, hence he is a legitimate care provider. This has no bearing on if the paramedic or physician is supposed to be there or not.

To use my waterpark gig as an example. The employees that were most likely to deal with guests either wore t-shirts (life guards, guest attendants) or Hawaiian shirts (retail employees and cabana workers). The positions that had authority (supervisors, directors, security, first aid) on the other hand wore polo shirts. The result of this was that, even though my sphere of influence and knowledge was really limited to first aid, guests would come to me over employees that would be more suited to assist them (cabana employees, guest assistants) since my uniform and appearance gave me more legitimacy than the 'lower' (the EMT-Bs were generally outside of the normal hierarchy of the park) employees.

Now, why is legitimacy important. If we were cab drivers, then I could see why this entire conversation would be silly. The fact is that our job dictates that we violate our patient's personal space. Yes, I would like to know that the person cutting off my clothes is supposed to be there and not some perv capitalizing on the situation. I'm sure that women want to be sure that the person adjusting their left breast as a bunch of wires get connected (12 lead) knows what he is doing and is supposed to be doing it. I'm sure that when people are letting strangers into their house, they want to know that it wasn't just some dude with a scanner that jumped the call. While uniforms are not perfect (and that sown in name tag doesn't help much either), the very nature of a uniform grants the wearer the legitimacy to enter into someone's home and invade a person's private space.

Another reason is political. If your system is trying to get funding, it needs legitimacy as well. People are not going to want to fund a social club, and it doesn't help to impress that a service is more than a social club if every time they see someone filling up the ambulance it's some dude in jeans and a t-shirt.

 

[LucidResq]

The fact is that our job dictates that we violate our patient's personal space.

This is absolutely true. No matter how open-minded you are, the way people dress influences your feelings about them.

My volunteer SAR team has the most professional uniform out of all of the local SAR teams (flying cross shirts w. patch and nameplate with BDUs or EMT pants). Most other teams have t-shirts. I am on call 24/7/365 and have definitely found myself wrangling with my uniform after getting a call at 3 am. Although a search for a missing person is considered an emergency, we usually have the time to get into uniform. Most people on the team keep one uniform at home and one in the car.

We also issue clip-on photo ID cards, which we carry at all times. When we are called to a rescue rather than a search, we don't bother with uniforms, it's go time. Hope you're wearing good shoes.

 

[emtwacker710]

I agree that we do have to look somewhat professionsl, as I ride with a vollie agency, 90% of the time I'm on duty I will have on my boots, EMS pants, and my agency's polo shirt. the other 10% of the time is when I have to cover for someone last minute or respond to 2nd calls I always keep a black shirt with EMT on the back of it and a star of life on the front, in my truck and I will grab the lightweight bunker pants we have on the rig and I look professional enough..

 

[skyemt]

once again... there are many ways to be identifiable, to look like you are supposed to be there... jackets, polo's, etc... without having to be in "uniform" per se... that just isn't the culture in some places, in unless you have been in that culture, you really can not comment too much...

the most important thing is patient care...professionalism, skills, how you treat your patient...

you don't realize it, but you are one step away from promoting whackerism, JP...

if you are to say that than patient doesn't know, and they go by how you look, then:

wouldn't they trust the emt with all the flashing lights on the car?

or, the big trauma bag full of everything under the sun, instead of a small one?

see where someone could take it with that reasoning...

i'm not saying uniforms aren't important, or don't have their place, or that it is ok to look sloppy...

but it works in places, without a standard uniform, because what really counts is what is on the inside, and if you trust that, the patient will trust...

uniforms are a nice wrapping on the box, but don't lose sight that if there's nothing too good in the box, the wrapping isn't worth very much.

 

[emtwacker710]

once again... there are many ways to be identifiable, to look like you are supposed to be there... jackets, polo's, etc... without having to be in "uniform" per se...

yes I agree also, but my agency has been a bit lazy on issuing out things such as jackets and such, most of the people grab them off the rig for that night and wear them for duty..

 

[emtwacker710]

We also issue clip-on photo ID cards, which we carry at all times.

those are great to have with you, my agency is actually working on getting them for everyone, they will have a photo of the person, name, rank (if applicable), level of training, all the important stuff one may need to know..we are also thinking of switching over to a system where you need your ID card to get into the building and access locked rooms within the building, that way members will be forced to carry the ID card with them.

 

[skyemt]

those are great to have with you, my agency is actually working on getting them for everyone, they will have a photo of the person, name, rank (if applicable), level of training, all the important stuff one may need to know..we are also thinking of switching over to a system where you need your ID card to get into the building and access locked rooms within the building, that way members will be forced to carry the ID card with them.

great... more "stuff"...

i can't wait for someone to say,

"my agency is working on getting everyone an additional 200 hours of training... it will have all kinds of knowledge and more detailed understanding of what we do, you know all the "important stuff one may need to know"... we are also thinking of switching over to a system where if you don't prove you are skilled and knowledgeable, you can't get into the building, that way members will be forced to carry their books and study all the time."

somehow, i doubt it will be as popular as other "cool stuff"... lol

was fun to think about anyway...

 

[wolfwyndd]

Predictions:
This becomes a Vol v Paid debate

In some cases, I think you're right. For my own squad, this article applies to ALL the members, paid, volunteer, full time, and part time. I think we have got to be one of the most UN professional squads I've ever seen. Our chief looks VERY sharp in his uniform. Unfortunately, 1/2 of the rest of the officers don't and of course, that rolls downhill. If you're officers look like crap, how can you expect the rest of the squad to care? Some of our volunteers look better then some of our paid full time crew. And, of course, we also have a few volunteers that look like crap.

 

[JPINFV]

once again... there are many ways to be identifiable, to look like you are supposed to be there... jackets, polo's, etc... without having to be in "uniform" per se... that just isn't the culture in some places, in unless you have been in that culture, you really can not comment too much...

the most important thing is patient care...professionalism, skills, how you treat your patient...

you don't realize it, but you are one step away from promoting whackerism, JP...

if you are to say that than patient doesn't know, and they go by how you look, then:
[e.g. POV lights, oversized jump bag]

i'm not saying uniforms aren't important, or don't have their place, or that it is ok to look sloppy...

but it works in places, without a standard uniform, because what really counts is what is on the inside, and if you trust that, the patient will trust...

uniforms are a nice wrapping on the box, but don't lose sight that if there's nothing too good in the box, the wrapping isn't worth very much.

The problem, though, is that it shouldn't take much to dictate wearing a polo shirt, jacket or jumpsuit (essentially things that can be quickly put on and easily carried), or other uniform/psuedouniform that identifies a provider, the provider's level, and the provider's agency. Getting into such a uniform should not take any significant amount of time, especially since the entire system adds a delay while people respond to go fetch the ambulance anyways.

Yes, what counts is on the inside. That doesn't mean that people don't end up shooting themselves in the foot with a bad first impression or that people can see what a person is thinking and professionalism is a general problem throughout the field (regardless of paycheck or system type).

 

[skyemt]

The problem, though, is that it shouldn't take much to dictate wearing a polo shirt, jacket or jumpsuit (essentially things that can be quickly put on and easily carried), or other uniform/psuedouniform that identifies a provider, the provider's level, and the provider's agency. Getting into such a uniform should not take any significant amount of time, especially since the entire system adds a delay while people respond to go fetch the ambulance anyways.

Yes, what counts is on the inside. That doesn't mean that people don't end up shooting themselves in the foot with a bad first impression or that people can see what a person is thinking and professionalism is a general problem throughout the field (regardless of paycheck or system type).

seriously... no jumpsuit and boots do not equal a "bad first impression"...
you are really hung up on this...

we will agree to disagree... you are making a lot of judgments about a system with which you have no experience...

if you'd like, you can come and visit, see how some other parts of the world operate, and then perhaps you will be in a better position to judge us...

if you'd like to take me up on the offer, PM me.

 

[BossyCow]

seriously... no jumpsuit and boots do not equal a "bad first impression"...
you are really hung up on this...

we will agree to disagree... you are making a lot of judgments about a system with which you have no experience...

if you'd like, you can come and visit, see how some other parts of the world operate, and then perhaps you will be in a better position to judge us...

if you'd like to take me up on the offer, PM me.

I do work in a system similar to yours and I believe it does make a difference. It makes a difference to the attitude the pts family has towards you, the way mutual aid agencies treat you and the way Law enforcement will enable your access to the scene.