fend themselves if a combative male patient were to attack them. Whether or not that is true, it is also true for male EMTs and Paramedics. If a male patient were to attack, he would cause as much damage to an all-male team as to an all-female team, or a team consisting of one male and one female. The same is true for a combative female. Sometimes, combative females are more violent than are combative males. In my experience, I have seen both, and for every male that requires six firefighters to restrain him, there is a female that requires six firefighters to restrain her.Another aspect of difference is treatment by hospital staff. Teams that consist of two males regularly receive more attention from female nurses than teams of two females or mixed teams. Not only is this practice disrespectful to the majority of emergency workers, it also hinders a patient’s treatment in that if the nurse does not pay full attention to what they are being told by emergency personnel, they may not take proper care in treating the patient. On the flipside of this argument lie issues of common courtesy. When the men in EMS are not exhibiting their superior lifting capabilities, avoiding psychiatric calls, or flirting with nurses, they are actually very civilized. There are numerous examples of this type of issue. One instance occurred while I was talking to my supervisor before a shift. My partner and another crewmember entered the supervisor’s office. The other crewmember said hello to me by saying, “F_ _ _ You!” As soon as he had, the males in the office immediately told him to watch his mouth because, “there was a female present.” Another good example was an exchange my partner and I had one night over seatbelts. I always wear my seatbelt in the ambulance, and I asked him why he was not wearing his. He replied that if anything were to happen, his job as the male crewmember would be to throw himself ...
