By EMS1 Staff
TULSA, Okla. — A police department hired its first female tactical paramedic.
News on 6 reported that Katheryn Ericsson joined the Tulsa Police Department’s Special Operations Team as the first female tactical paramedic, and she said it was not an easy accomplishment.
“We are working with men and I have to be able, if something happens to one of my teammates, I have to be able to drag them out with all of their gear,” Ericsson said. “They have to trust you with their lives.”
Ericsson’s job will be to join the Special Operations Team in crisis situations.
“We enter into these environments with the team,” she said. “We are the first ones on scene to render aid to an officer that is potentially injured, victims that are injured, render care immediately, and then get them to the standby unit.”
Ericsson, who is a 10-year veteran paramedic and EMS instructor, said some doubted her ability because of her gender.
“As a woman getting into this industry, it’s not without its challenges. You have to work almost twice as hard,” she said.
However, she added that the department “has always been very forward thinking when it comes to ladies and their rank.”
“I’ve had tremendous support from the officers that I’ve worked with,” she said. “There are going to be some rough days, and there are going to be some setbacks, and there are going to be people that don’t believe in you or don’t even think that you belong there. Have a goal and have a dream and pursue it.”
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