Muslim Femal Paramedic

[*saphire*]

Salaams, I am a 20 year old pakistani muslim female and wish to become a paramedic. My mother is strongly against this and she says it goes against Islam. I will continue to wear my hijab and the clothing is not revealing anyway. I'm currently a manager at a callcentre and took a first aid course and know this is what i want to do....save lives. There's a few worrying things about the job......i understand which my mum points out:

1) You have to work late nights - after the year/two year training i can opt out of this.

2) I must travel with a male - i'll only jump into an ambulance when we get a call and i doubt there will be a danger of anything happening when we are on the way to save someones life!

3) I may have to treat alcoholics and drug users especially at nights which can be dangerous - my response - on those kind of call outs the police are always present and i doubt that anybody will attack me when i have been called to save a life.

Please please please can anyone offer me advice. I really want to do this unless it strongly compromises with Islam.......please offer knowledge........

Thanks

[AnonymousPoster]

Salaams, I am a 20 year old pakistani muslim female and wish to become a paramedic. My mother is strongly against this and she says it goes against Islam. I will continue to wear my hijab and the clothing is not revealing anyway. I'm currently a manager at a callcentre and took a first aid course and know this is what i want to do....save lives. There's a few worrying things about the job......i understand which my mum points out:

1) You have to work late nights - after the year/two year training i can opt out of this.

2) I must travel with a male - i'll only jump into an ambulance when we get a call and i doubt there will be a danger of anything happening when we are on the way to save someones life!

3) I may have to treat alcoholics and drug users especially at nights which can be dangerous - my response - on those kind of call outs the police are always present and i doubt that anybody will attack me when i have been called to save a life.

Please please please can anyone offer me advice. I really want to do this unless it strongly compromises with Islam.......please offer knowledge........

Thanks

You already have experience in a call centre, you can become an operator (emergency dispatcher) which is related to the field you wish to work at and much more safer, there are a few stresses involved but am sure your rents would prefer you to work there =)

[barney]

Is the safety aspect a personal concern or an islamic concern?

[*saphire*]

Well safety is a personal concern for my mum, islam comes into with with having a male partner. Also having to do nights for the first 2 years as experience of all situations - means i will be exposed to alcohol and drug related situations.

[*saphire*]

You already have experience in a call centre, you can become an operator (emergency dispatcher) which is related to the field you wish to work at and much more safer, there are a few stresses involved but am sure your rents would prefer you to work there =)

I want to be actually there doing something active in saving a persons life...you can't get that buzz on the other side of a phone.

[جوري]

you should do what you want to do. I don't see anything Haram about saving lives. During the time of the prophet Muslim women used to tend to the wounds of the soldiers!

and Allah knows best

[AnonymousPoster]

I want to be actually there doing something active in saving a persons life...you can't get that buzz on the other side of a phone.

I think you'll find that you can. But the choice is up to you, getting hands on with serious issues like emergency things is a big issue and can at times be depressing both for yourself and your family.

Tell me a few things, the answer to the following:

- Would you feel comfortable giving chest compressions to a member of the opposite gender?

- If you need to, would you give mouth to mouth?

- Working alongside male colleagues? Does that not bug you?

As a hijabi I would feel uncomfortable, wouldn't you?

As I said there are several ways to save people lives,


I know someone that wanted to become a police officer, she is a covered Muslimah like yourself, I didn't want her to become one as she will have to handle male in-mates as well as the females, she still is a police officer but she does patrols in her car, I don't think she likes it any more, think carefully about what you plan to do in the future, don't jump into anything straight away or you'll regret it.

[Trumble]

I'm afraid you'll be exposed to just about everything humanity can throw at you in that job. It's also one of the most rewarding things anyone can do and one of the most compassionate things a human being can do.

I can't speak on the subject of any Islamic objections, obviously, but those aside, go for it... you'll spend your life regretting it if you don't. Of course, your parents love you and will worry but, like all parents, sooner or later they will release their little girl has grown up - and be very, very proud of you.

[barney]

Well safety is a personal concern for my mum, islam comes into with with having a male partner. Also having to do nights for the first 2 years as experience of all situations - means i will be exposed to alcohol and drug related situations.

Just walking along a typical city centre street you will pass a dozen people with drug or alcohol problems. Isnt the only unislamic thing if you actually took drugs or alcohol?


As per the male partner question, I work in the NHS and the paramedics are historically and typically a hard drinking, hard swearing womanising group. Theyre brilliant people and save lives on a daily basis, but I think it would be a bit of a shock to you the kinds of people you will meet.
They will be singing rude songs and dodgy jokes and after a shift will all head down the pub to chat and unwind. It's what they do to deal with the things they see, the split open heads of kids in RTA's and the smashed out of their faceon drugs teenagers vomiting over them.

It's a very worthwhile job, but you need to be prepared to enter that culture without condemming it to them.

[*saphire*]

I think you'll find that you can. But the choice is up to you, getting hands on with serious issues like emergency things is a big issue and can at times be depressing both for yourself and your family.

Tell me a few things, the answer to the following:

- Would you feel comfortable giving chest compressions to a member of the opposite gender?

- If you need to, would you give mouth to mouth?

- Working alongside male colleagues? Does that not bug you?

As a hijabi I would feel uncomfortable, wouldn't you?

As I said there are several ways to save people lives,


I know someone that wanted to become a police officer, she is a covered Muslimah like yourself, I didn't want her to become one as she will have to handle male in-mates as well as the females, she still is a police officer but she does patrols in her car, I don't think she likes it any more, think carefully about what you plan to do in the future, don't jump into anything straight away or you'll regret it.

- Yeah i would give chest compressions

- I wouldnt need to give mouth to mouth as both parameds tend to do cpr - one person giving mouth to mouth - even then they ALWAYS use a pocket mask due to safety and hygiene purposes.

- I have to work with male collegues as a manager - pretty annoying species- but you remain professional

- I'm very very comfortable with my hijab

- yeah you're right there are other ways of saving lives but if i'mm honest its 3 of 4 years of further studying then you actually start on the job training. Before being a paramedic you can be a ambulance technician and learn on the job hands on doing pretty much the same thing.

[جوري]

- If you need to, would you give mouth to mouth?



.

mouth to mouth is no longer required for the new guidelines of BCLS or ACLS..and even if it applied, paramedics always have equipments to do so, if for nothing else at all not to endanger their own lives..

[barney]

- Yeah i would give chest compressions

- I wouldnt need to give mouth to mouth as both parameds tend to do cpr - one person giving mouth to mouth - even then they ALWAYS use a pocket mask due to safety and hygiene purposes.

- I have to work with male collegues as a manager - pretty annoying species- but you remain professional

- I'm very very comfortable with my hijab

- yeah you're right there are other ways of saving lives but if i'mm honest its 3 of 4 years of further studying then you actually start on the job training. Before being a paramedic you can be a ambulance technician and learn on the job hands on doing pretty much the same thing.

You swap between the two of you with the mouth to mouth after prolonged periods. Yes you will use a leadral facemask, but that isnt always possible either.

[*saphire*]

If its a male paramedic and female is not breathing.......is he allowed to give mouth to mouth if its the only thing thats going to save har? What does islam say about that?

[جوري]

Islam says that necessity overrides prohibition --

and Allah knows best

[*saphire*]

So if i have no choice but to give mouth to mouth to save a life.......it would overide the prohibitation?

I'm not being difficult honest, i just really want to understand and see if i can do something like this without compromising islam. If its wrong its wrong...i get it.

[AnonymousPoster]

So if i have no choice but to give mouth to mouth to save a life.......it would overide the prohibitation?

I'm not being difficult honest, i just really want to understand and see if i can do something like this without compromising islam. If its wrong its wrong...i get it.

I just wanted to know a few things,

Thanks Barn =)

And skye =)

I learnt a few things from your thread also,

I hope you get to do the things you want to do.

[barney]

I think you have to inject a bit of rationality into the situations.

If you let someone die because of religious prohibitions, you'd lose your job, and frankly you shouldnt consider the job. (you also might be procecuted)

[*saphire*]

by the way when i said something like this i meant being a paramedic...not giving mouth to mouth!!!!

[*saphire*]

I think you have to inject a bit of rationality into the situations.

If you let someone die because of religious prohibitions, you'd lose your job, and frankly you shouldnt consider the job. (you also might be procecuted)

yeah exactly i get that. but a muslim wouldn't give a **** if they were given mouth to mouth if it saved their life, and it wouldn't be forbidden either. so why is it sooo wrong for muslim to think like that and save another life? also......i know many muslim females would appreciate a female paramedic rushing to their aid and treating them. so wouldn't that be benefiting the islamic community?

[barney]

I have given mouth to mouth twice without the facemask. Once to a 70 year old woman once to a 25 year old woman.
On both occassions I was concentrating on them living rather than wether I fancied them. Funnily enough, that was back in my theist days and I was also praying.