women in the world of EMS

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tglee30

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Hello, I start EMT school soon and my goal is to become a paramedic/FF. I've been in Healthcare for 8 years as a CNA in FL and I need a change. Can someone please let me know what's it like as a women in the field? I dont know of many female medic/FF and I would just love some input. I'm completely new to this field and just would like any information that can be given.
I also am trying to decide if staying in Florida is a good choice or going somewhere in GA i.e Atlanta or north of there for better pay, benefits, company etc.
T.I.A
 
It's like being a male in the field.
Except your genitalia is different.

You preform the same job/duties.
 
Thanks, I get that and don't expect any different treatment for my gender just wondering what it's like as far as being petite, short, and small. I just don't see many females and I wonder why?
Thanks for the response
 
I know quite a few females who work in the EMS field, and they get along just fine, if not better than many of their male counterparts. The bottom line is that we all need to be sure that we're physically capable of doing the job in front of us, regardless of our gender. Things to keep in mind:

-As a petite female, your center of gravity is different, which makes proper lifting technique paramount. Pay attention to your body mechanics, and your likelihood of injury will be decreased significantly.
-You will find that while some physical aspects may be harder, there are indeed advantages to having a smaller member of the team, such as getting through the window to gain access to that comatose diabetic. Don't take it as a slight, think of it as resource utilization, and find ways to use your unique abilities to suit the team.
-There are indeed sexist providers out there (read: a**holes). Ignore them and truck on.

Best of luck to you!
 
For the fire side I would just worry about throwing ladders due to being shorter, but it's still totally doable. Do an academy and you can see if you want to pursue it.
 
Umm COmedic you are sadly mistaken. The ugly truth is most men will look at you as weak and as if you don't belong. Of course they can't say this (I'm sure some do) but a lot of them will doubt your abilities and strength to do the job.
You need to not play the female card, train rigorously and be prepared. Attitude is everything.
It's not impossible but to say being male vs female in this field, especially fire is the same is completely false and misleading.
No sense in blowing smoke.
 
Not sure about the Fire side of things.
However in EMS -- I (from a personal, male side) give everyone a chance. If I don't think you're up to it, I adjust accordingly and work around the weaknesses to still do the best I can for each patient. With that said ... I thoroughly enjoy competent women in EMS. A strong female partner is a great combo, especially if you both can drive and AIC. Though professionally it shouldn't matter, some female patients do better with female providers.
 
Angel said:
Umm COmedic you are sadly mistaken. The ugly truth is most men will look at you as weak and as if you don't belong. Of course they can't say this (I'm sure some do) but a lot of them will doubt your abilities and strength to do the job.
You need to not play the female card, train rigorously and be prepared. Attitude is everything.
It's not impossible but to say being male vs female in this field, especially fire is the same is completely false and misleading.
No sense in blowing smoke.
Click to expand...
I have been working in this field for several years. I have never had a problem. So one has ever looked at me was "weak" or lesser then them. I have had not one person doubt the ability of my to preform my job. I have never been looked down upon in my job as a medic or when I went though fire academy/schooling. I out preform many of my male co workers. If you continually work to better yourself pshyscially and mentally- you will be fine.

The only females I have seen looked at differently are the ones who believe they deserve some kid of special treatment for being a woman. There are specifications to being in ems/fire. If you can't preform at those standards, then find a different job. No one is going to cater to you because your a female. And they shouldn't have to.
And people in ems/fire tend to be very crude- with or without females present. Don't expect them to change everything to accomadate you. I'm not saying deal with sexual harassment directed towards you, but be aware there will be inappropriate jokes...frequently.

Do your job, don't complain, and they will accept you.

Whine, say things are "too hard",and it will be very unpleasant for you.
 
My experience has been similar to COMedic's, though I say this as a guy who works with women, not a woman myself.

And speaking from a fire perspective, as a woman you will have to work harder, just by virtue of some of the favorite fire academy exercises (pushups, pullups, etc) being upper body heavy. If you do want to do firefighting, start getting in shape now, with big lifts and bodyweight exercises. We had a girl who was stronger than half the guys in academy in PT, and another who was dead last. Don't be the one who's dead last. Be #1.
 
Angel said:
Umm COmedic you are sadly mistaken. The ugly truth is most men will look at you as weak and as if you don't belong. Of course they can't say this (I'm sure some do) but a lot of them will doubt your abilities and strength to do the job.
You need to not play the female card, train rigorously and be prepared. Attitude is everything.
It's not impossible but to say being male vs female in this field, especially fire is the same is completely false and misleading.
No sense in blowing smoke.
Click to expand...
That's not the case any place I have ever worked in the slightest. The ugly truth is if you are weak (in all senses of the word) and are sucky provider, you will not be accepted. Gender not withstanding.

I don't look at my female coworkers (especially my female partner who can/will/has beaten my ***) as any different than men and none of my coworkers do either. And I say this as someone who works for both a tiny rural service and a big urban AMR operation.

Most men? Thanks for that.
 
I work in EMS, but not fire. I have never seen women where I work with get treated any differently than men. We are about 50/50 men/women.
 
we are talking about fire medics right??? fire is an entirely different culture than just EMS.
 
In EMS, you size up your partner to determine how much extra work you may need to do in order to make up for their deficiencies.

In Fire, you look at your partner and try to determine whether or not they can get you out of the burning house if you go down.

... the stakes are a little higher.

That being said, I personally don't care whether you're male or female as long as you can meet that criteria. I work with several women that I would choose over male counterparts at the drop of a hat. There are several (men and women) that I do not want to work with at all.

I'm more than willing to do extra work on a medical, but I need to be confident that my partner can truly perform all the required functions on the fireground
 
Angel said:
we are talking about fire medics right??? fire is an entirely different culture than just EMS.
Click to expand...
Y
Angel said:
we are talking about fire medics right??? fire is an entirely different culture than just EMS.
Click to expand...
You must of missed the part of me talking about the fire aspect then.
 
So in reality: A lot of men will be threatened by your presence. They'll think you are there to fill a quota, slept or will sleep with someone. Are weak, can't do the job and will want/expect preferential treatment.
There are women on the job who do that (ie, a woman slept with her superiors, and later sued-the comments were abhorrent, but people showing their true colors).
What people say, and think are 2 different things, especially when you are physically present vs not. Being a physical and predominantly male career, you will have an uphill battle, but it's not impossible.
Don't expect kittens and rainbows and I'm sure you'll do fine.
 
I really don't care whether my partner is male or female, I work with both and think it's great to have women in the field.
 
I'll only work with women if I'm given a cootie shot prior to shift start. Because then I'm not sexist and judgmental from worrying about catching it. (Sarcasm font)

If someone can do the job I don't care if your male, female, black, white, blue, green, or a zombie.
 
I've personally worked with many females partners. All of them did their duties correctly and effectively. All of them were small and petite, and when we lifted patients, I always opted to take the heavier head side of the patient. We just put our pride aside and did what was best for both the patient and the EMT. I know she would fatigue quicker by grabbing the head side of the patient who was on a flat, so I take the head. It wasn't sexism, it was common sense that I could lift more than her. I don't want either my partner nor I to get injured because one of us was too prideful to admit that we could not lift a certain patient. I think it made sense.
Regardless, most of the female EMT's I worked with took their jobs seriously. I don't think you should be discouraged to work in this field, and I would actually encourage you to pursue it. The last female partner I worked with had such a vast knowledge of EMS and techniques. I learned more from her in one shift than I did with any other partner, regardless of gender. I am fairly new, about a month or so under my belt, so I have had the opportunity to work with many different EMT's. Male, feamale, tall, short, fit, overweight, black, white, you name it. I did however notice that medics, FD, nurses, and anyone we came in contact with were especially polite and willing to help whenever I worked with a female partner. Which is actually why I prefer to work with female EMTs. If only everyone treated me with the same politeness, regardless of the gender of my partner.
Personally, I always keep it professional. I believe a lot of EMT's are the same way. Of course, you will get the occasional sleeze, but I think that happens regardless of where you work or what field you work in. Just be the best EMT you can be, and take pride in what you do. Being a minority in EMS should motivate you to work harder and to prove to the patronizing aholes that you're damn good at your job.
 
Most of you are giving examples of private EMS, where there is usually never issues. FD is a whole different animal when there are groups of guys and one female together for 24 hours. I have never seen any animosity between them, and I have never had a problem with any one in the fire department doing what they were asked. Girls do have more to prove in any job predominately done by males. No point in sugar coating it.

Goes without saying though, if you plan on joining FD as a female, you will need thick skin with all the jokes in station etc. Do your job, and you will be fine. Don't do it? You will probably hear about it, same goes for guys not doing theirs.
 
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