As told by Olivea Sutherland
My journey in emergency medical services has only just begun.
Being in this profession for only two years so far, I have learned a lot and have fallen in love with the profession.
As a woman in EMS, it can be difficult at times for several reasons due to the profession having a strong history of being dominated by males. Fortunately, women continue to rise in the EMS profession.
Struggles that we, as women, face in this profession will only make us stronger as long as we allow it to. We need to stick up for ourselves. We are there for our patients and not the people who try to put us down.
An instance where I faced a challenge occurred when I first joined the profession as a new EMT. I was put in positions where my quality of care and ability to perform the job was questioned because I was a woman.
Through these challenges, I aspired to prove to them that I did have the ability to perform the job. I continued to provide the best quality care for my patients.
This inspired me to encourage other women in similar positions to not let these comments or people get them down.
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