By SA国际传媒 Staff
Gone are the days of all EMS providers wearing white pants, white shirt or a dark navy outfit.
And because of this variety, SA国际传媒 columnist Catherine Counts looked at the impact and role uniform color plays. Specifically, she looked at research regarding police-public interactions and if EMS could benefit and change anything with the findings.
We asked our what color they thought paramedics should wear. A majority of commenters were most concerned about the color of their uniforms in regard to setting them apart from police officers. Others talked about the need for more high-visible clothing in EMS and their color preference based off weather resistance and job-related messes.
Do you think color matters? Let us know in the comments below.
1. 鈥淣o badge. I鈥檓 a big fan of high visible uniforms, because this way at 3 a.m. we don鈥檛 look like cops. I worked at one place where they had jumpsuits. As long as we don鈥檛 look like cops. When we do, it tends to cause problems.鈥� 鈥� Brian Conner
2. 鈥淲e have white tops and navy pants with BLS in all navy. I like how my uniform looks brand new. However, a white shirt is not practical for EMS providers day-to-day. Everything from fluids, to sweat stains, dirty footprints on your chest and even food. Without fail, I always spill my coffee the morning I wear a brand new shirt.鈥� 鈥� Denise Chagnon Beady
3. 鈥淚鈥檓 from Germany, and here it is a law that EMS providers have to wear high-visible clothes. So we have orange trousers, orange jackets and white shirts.鈥� 鈥� Moritz Werthschulte
4. 鈥淚 agree to not having badges. I used to work for a private service and our class A鈥檚 were 100 percent red. To me, that just screams 鈥榤edical鈥� and I have yet to come across any LE that wears red. That鈥檚 how it should be.鈥� 鈥� Luke Ailiff
5. 鈥淚鈥檝e been mistaken for a police officer all of the time. I prefer the blues. I think they look professional. I have worn white shirt and blue pants and by the first 10 minutes they鈥檙e already dirty. I prefer a blue polo shirt with EMS and professional licensure on back.鈥� 鈥� Brian Schilling
6. 鈥淩ed shirts, black pants. Red and black are great at hiding stains, helps you to stay looking professional. Red doesn鈥檛 retain much heat when working an MVC in the blistering Texas sun. Red is more flashy and EMS-related than blues, blacks and other dark colors and sets us apart from police officers, helps reduce danger as well. When I see gray, I think correctional officer. When I see beige, I think security guard.鈥� 鈥� Ari Andalman
7. 鈥淚 would love a universal color coding. I also think we need to ditch the dark blue. I鈥檓 patriotic, but Europe is right to put their first responders that are not police into high visibility yellows and greens. I say fire should move toward a high visible yellow and red, and EMS should be high VI鈥檚 yellow and royal blue.鈥� 鈥� Lawson C Stuart
8. 鈥淥urs are white. Not real practical, but the argument is that they want us to not look anything like our local LEOs who have blue and tan.鈥� 鈥� Adrian Hoesli
9. 鈥淩ed. Easily recognizable and no confusion with law enforcement.鈥� 鈥� Jake Walker
10. 鈥淚 like the idea of scrubs. Not just any type, though. Something specially designed for EMS in whatever colors a specific company is.鈥� 鈥� Britni Martinez