Monday, September 12, 2016

Women and ladders

I deal with a lot of multi-trauma patients and the other day, I had two patients who were injured falling from ladders. And that's when I realized that in all my years of practice, I have had a lot of patients were injured falling from ladders, and not even one of them has been a woman.

I have never had a female patient who is injured falling off a ladder.

I have never had a female patient who fell off a roof.

I have never had a female patient who was in a motorcycle or ATV accident.

Is it that females never do these things or just that they are more careful?


On the other hand, I did have a female patient who injured herself trying to carry her 12-year-old son up a flight of stairs.

11 comments:

  1. I've had a handful of women injured on motorcycles and ATVs.
    Cannot think of a woman who fell of a roof or ladder.
    However every painter/roofer/tree service(except 1) I have ever had work on my house or at the office has been male.

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  3. My mother fell of a ladder recently, and is limping around.
    In her high heels.
    And of course, she won't see a doctor.

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  4. I realize that this is all kinds of stereotyping, BUT:

    I think that women are less into those sorts of things because most of us look at risk more practically than a lot of men do. My husband has fallen off of ladders while doing DIY projects, loves riding motorcycles, and generally looks at a lot of risky behaviors as part of being a man. The definition of manliness that he believes in is not my favorite thing, and it seems to be one that quite a few men buy into.

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  5. I've seen a bunch of women fall off ladders. I had one the other day who broke both arms when she was standing on a ladder on the stairs. ..

    I can't think of anything female pts who have fallen off the roof though...

    -trauma surgeon

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    1. I also get a lot of female motorcycle and atv accidents

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  6. the ownership of roofs and ladders implies the ownership of homes which, using stereotypical logic, implies marriage which implies the husband climbing the ladder onto the roof. The same logic implies that if a man owns a string-trimmer (as Weed Eater is a brand name) he is heterosexual.

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  7. My mother, sister, and aunt all ride dirt bikes and except for a bad exhaust burn due to poor leg placement, they've all been fine. My uncles and dad, on the other hand, have multiple injuries both small and large from the same outings. I think it's just risk management and willingness to do more stupid shit.

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  8. I think women tend to leave that sort of thing to someone else unless they are bit more independant, like I am. :)

    I also ride a 2 wheeler.

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  9. Nurse for ten years: I've seen 3-4 men admitted to our step-down unit per year after falling off ladders (Christmas lights and spring cleaning)... Not one woman. 2-3/year ATV accidents... Not one woman.

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  10. Consider yourself fortunate. In Moab, Ut 2 women died in an ATV accident a couple of weeks ago. In my home town a woman was killed in an ATV accident last week. All of them were very tragic.

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