Are there any colorblind nurses out there?

RedCell · Aug 30, 2007

I am red/green lacking. Knew something was wrong in nursing school when I couldn't read the numbers in the ishihara circles, later had it confirmed in a physical.

GeminiTwinRN, BSN · Aug 30, 2007

I know at both hospital jobs I've had, we've had to take a color-blind test. I'm not sure what would've happened if we hadn't passed though. Interesting question.

I can imagine it would be necessary to be able to differentiate between colors in our jobs. I'm thinking of all the many, many things that are color coded, not to mention body fluids that need to be identified as to their color.

Take this for example. We recently had a pt. on our step down unit who had 5 jp drains. When she was admitted to our unit, her jp drains all had sero-sang fluid in them. One NOC shift, she suddenly turned from sero-sang to green. If a color-blind nurse had cared for this pt, it might have been missed. That could have (and of couse this pt's outcome is poor as a result of the change anyway) potentially been life threatening if not caught early.

justrissy · Aug 30, 2007

Hi I happen to be one of the rarities in the life cycle. I am red-green color-blind, I am an LPN (one semester from finishing the RN program), and I am also a FEMALE! Women can be color-blind too, it is rare but it happens. Here's how, My Dad is color-blind and my Mom's grandfather was color-blind (so is one of her brothers and one of my cousins) so Mom carried the gene, so luck of the draw I happen to get the color-blind gene from both parents (wouldn't ya know it, my brothers are not color-blind, but my nephew and my son are) Any way yes it can be difficult. I work in LTC and have had to have fellow nurses look at wounds for color and urine dips for color. Not the best situation I know but you learn to compencate for it, and need to have good fellow staff to work with and trust.