Addressing bias in a diverse EMS workforce

Addressing bias in your hiring practices

A more diverse EMS workforce provides more equitable care

October 05, 2022 11:59 AM •

How can we help EMS look more like the population it serves? We must examine our policies and their impact on who we are hiring and retaining.

In this episode of The EMS Educator podcast, hosts Rob Lawrence and Hilary Gates, MAEd, NRP; welcome guests Katie O鈥機onnor, EMS educator and simulation expert in LA County and Washington D.C.鈥檚 GWU; Sahaj Khalsa, Santa Fe (NM) Community College鈥檚 EMS program director; and Prodigy鈥檚 Medical Director, Maia Dorsett, MD, PhD, FAEMS, FACEP.

Our guests discuss how social determinants of health can affect employee success and how our seemingly well-thought out requirements may actually harm our diversity efforts.

If you鈥檙e a chief, recruiter, educator or EMS employer, this podcast is a must listen. The people who write policies are gatekeepers to this profession, and we still have a ways to go to diversify the EMS workforce.

Have a listen to Part 1, Addressing Bias in Patient Care.

Mentioned in the episode:

Get in touch with our guests:

Sahaj Khalsa:
Katie O鈥機onnor:

Maia Dorsett: maiadorsett@gmail.com

This podcast is sponsored by EMS Gives Life. Would you consider becoming a living organ donor? Visit for more info. Check out the Earn a $1,000 reward for your best talks. Get your CE at . Follow @ProdigyEMS on , , and .

What unconscious biases are your simulations enforcing?

The EMS Educator Podcast

Prodigy EMS brings you EMS education reimagined. Join us for relevant, high-quality discussions around the best practices in EMS education. You鈥檒l find interviews with experts in EMS, education, medical direction, leadership, and more. Earn CAPCE credit at www.prodigyems.com and explore our library of courses. Follow @ProdigyEMS on Twitter, FB, YouTube and IG.

Hilary Gates, MAEd, NRP, is the director of educational strategy for Prodigy EMS and is a consultant for 410 Medical, Inc. She is a volunteer paramedic in the Alexandria (VA) Fire Department and teaches in the School of Education at American University in Washington, D.C., and in the Emergency Medicine program at University of Pittsburgh. Beginning her career as a volunteer EMT with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad in Montgomery County, Md., Gates became a full-time paramedic, EMT instructor and FTO at AFD, and then served as senior editorial and program director for EMS World. Gates implemented AFD鈥檚 MIH/CP program in 2017 and has extensive experience as an EMS educator, symposium presenter, and quality improvement trainer.

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. Currently, he works on both coasts in part-time roles as director of strategic implementation of PRO EMS Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as executive director of the California Ambulance Association. Rob is also the principal of Robert Lawrence Consulting. He previously served as the chief operating officer of Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California, and COO of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Rob also writes and podcasts at SA国际传媒, is a member of the SA国际传媒 Editorial Advisory Board, and co-hosts the popular FirstWatch 鈥淐onversations that Matters鈥� web series. Rob is a former board member of the American Ambulance Association and currently serves as chair of its Communications Committee and as a member of the media rapid response task force, providing media response to national industry-related news inquiries.