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Ok, got an email from a female paramedic who is a long time friend. She went to work for a service about 6 months ago and probably has about 7 years experience in EMS. Low and behold she found that one of her Paramedic School classmates (who is also female) worked on a different shift at the same company. Being close friends, when it came time to do a shift bid, they asked to be assigned as partners, but were denied because the employer does not allow double female crews, citing the probable need for lift assist, and the dangers of going into dangerous neighborhoods. Does anyone here work for a company that has such a policy, do you think its legal ? What would you do if you were her ?

While I don't know the legal aspect of it I am going to throw in my opinio on a 2 female crew. I work for a rural 911 service where the norm is a male/female crew. At one time due to personnel shortages I had a female partner. That makes a 2 female crew. Some situations are more easily handled by a man. Also some ethnicities communicate with men better than women. I think ideally a male/female crew is best. Male for male problems and female for female problems. JMO...

I am not sure, but i do not think they make them lift 150 at time of hire. I think they have to show proper technique, but I believed they dropped the lift requirement after a lawsuit.

I think that would classify as discrimination. Surely their employer mandates all employees to be able to lift at least 150 lbs, so the two of them together should be able to handle most any patient and in the times they can't, they should be able to call for lift assistance from other departments. I would bring it up with the boss. EDIT: Addition. Also, as far as dangerous hoods are concerned, they signed up for the job. And if they feel unsafe, then it's time to stand off and call PD to clear the scene before they move in. Same as at any other EMS service.

Bad choice not to carry both. Morphine is cheaper but neither is expensive. You need to look at the actual benefits to patients and you will find it is best to have both.

My godson is 6, and plays in a “Timbits” soccer program (the Canadians will get that…). He was playing an indoor game this evening, and one of the players on his team fell to the ground (this player is a bit of a whiner, and tends to fall and cry often)…. My godson ran over to him, laid his head on his chest for a moment, then looked up, gave 2 thumbs up to his coach, and hollered “It’s ok, we have a heartbeat!” then ran back to join the play…. The crowd roared….

I was just thinking of how things change, and we loose touch with ppl so easily. Suffice it to say, there are some folks that I really enjoyed getting to e-know. In the same meaning, there are also some folks that I wish I didn't know existed. Like all the lunatics that have an EMS Fetish; or the ones that are just plain off their rocker. Then there are a few, that while I don't personally know, I would consider it an honour to have met, taken advice from, spoken to and respect. Like the old days, where we could sit and chat face to face. Gave the site a more personal feel. We're all just an electronic signature, but we also have faces, personalities, and I find it easier to respect someone's thoughts if I have seen and spoken directly to them. So I have great deal of respect for Mr. Davis, you don't always have to agree with someone, to respect their knowledge and views.

Okay, I don't disagree that there are some wrongs being committed by this guy, but you're twisting the issue into something else. The title of this thread wasn't to imply that women's freedom could only be granted by man, only to imply that the manager of an EMS service (who does, in fact, have the power to permit or deny certain things within his service) was not allowing two women to work together. And while that guy may be something of a male chauvinist or even downright sexist, the fundamental question of the equality of women and men was not questioned by anyone but you. Furthermore, this particular manager may not inherently be sexist so much as misinformed, misguided, or acting based on any other multitude of inherently harmless beliefs that resulted in not so harmless behaviors. Trying to ascribe any sort of mentality to this guy based on what we know would be a folly. So please, don't turn this into a philosophical debate about the equality of the sexes. I don't know anyone here who wouldn't agree that men and women are equal. And we don't know what this guy's personal views are, only his actions and his reported reasoning. Is it wrong? Yeah. Does that make him a sexist or a misguided soul? Who knows. His actions are sexist, he may not be. People are not infallible, and infallibility doesn't make someone inherently evil.

Alright, hearing from some more people... still waiting on Fiznat, and a picture from UglyEMT. I present to you Mobey! I will be directly quoting him as well... he summed it up pretty nicely for me! "My real name is Marc Mobey (almost), I am 29 yrs old, and am married to my elementary sweetheart with 3 kids. I have literally been with my wife since I was 14! started in EMS back in 2004 while volunteering as a Fire Captain, and finding myself in the back of the ambulance helping out. Just seemed to fit. I took my PCP/EMT in Saskatchewan, and immediatly upgraded to Intermediate. Still not satisfied, I worked for a few years, saved up some cash and went to Paramedic school. 2+ years later.... here I am! I currently work at 2 remote stations doing mixed 911 calls, and IFT. Both stations are greater than 2 hrs from any major hospital giving me plenty of time to manage patients to the full extent of my knowledge. This also forces me into difficult ethical decisions, and lots of adapting since there is no backup out here. To be honest when I first started into EMS, it was a total adrenaline thing, however, I have found that having my intellect challenged and overcoming difficult scenarios with each call out here in the rural has completely taken over as my main drive. As corny as it may sound, I really do owe a thanks to a few here that have challenged me to be a better provider. I have always put pt advocacy as #1, however the meathods I initally used such as "following the leader" were quickly ended by Dust, Rid, Asys, Mike, and others. From these members I learned to never take info at face value, and to use science as a tool to better care for my patients no matter how hard the monkeys beat me. It is important to note that I have no Paramedic co-workers out here, so to the past, present and future cyber-friends who help me through some of my more difficult calls and challenge me to be better.... Thank You."

There are to many problems with this. First of all i am an emt that weighs 300 lbs, i played professional football and i most certainly can lift way over 150 lbs. Also i am a college educated individual that took many womens rights classes. I believe that certain things are not done right in the ems field. In the military if a woman can't do her job because she cannot lift, or a man is overweight and cannot run they must get up to par or wash out. If you are unable to lift then why are you in a job that one half of the job is transportation and to me that includes lifting. Not being bias to men there are def men out there that are unable to perform these tasks as well. I feel as if there should be requirements same as in the fire dept.. To me If you are unable to lift a pt. thats the same as not being able to apply some kind of medical care due to a physical problem. I believe that if any person that is able to do a job and not allowed to do it have the right to rectify the problem by any means necessary. i know my company likes to put a man and a woman together because by doing that it makes it much more difficult for a pt. to claim any kind of bias, assult based on sex, etc. So in conclusion should she be allowed to work with her female friend yes if they are capable to do the lifting requirements, and that goes as well for suing the company. Although i am going to take another stance that of the company. If you want to make sure that you do not have a problem of sexual discrimination put a lifting requirement and test for it yearly its the only thing that makes sense. Not to mention you know that your company has healthy enough employees to do the physical aspect of the job. Part of EMS is Treatment of a pt. the other part is Transportation. If you as a person are incapable of transporting a pt. due to physical limitations then you are hindering your partner and your pt. Make sure that your pt. gets the best care, i know that i am capable to lift well over four hundred pounds from a ground position to my hips as a dead lift, but if i was hindered by an inner ear problem and unable to take a b/p then i could not do this job and i wouldn't press the subject. I know i have gotten off topic although i feel as if in a different light physical tests need to have a place in EMT testing. And in this area it is neccessary i feel to implement testing. Sorry once more for talking so much about something slightly off topic.