# Color-Blind



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

Straight to the point, I want LOTS of opinions here...

I am colorblind, should I pursue a career in EMS or not? 

Some people tell me it doesn't affect the job at all, and it isn't on any exam.
Others tell me that I shouldn't even consider a job in EMS, because nobody will hire me.

Please help..


----------



## Medic Tim (Jan 23, 2012)

i know a few medics who are colour blind. They haven't complained about it.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

I know almost everything, if not everything is not only color-coded, but like the needles have the gauge size on them as well.. That's how I grab the correct one.


----------



## Chief Complaint (Jan 23, 2012)

Most fire based systems consider it to be a disqualifier, im not sure if its an issue with private companies though.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

So a full time fire dept, who does both fire and medical probably wouldn't hire me?


----------



## Chief Complaint (Jan 23, 2012)

Oculuck said:


> So a full time fire dept, who does both fire and medical probably wouldn't hire me?




There is no harm in looking into it.  If you call around to some recruitment folks im sure they would have no problem telling you their policy.  I imagine that like everything else in EMS, it varies by department.

I dont know of any fire departments near me that will hire somebody who is color blind though.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

Alright, Thank you!


----------



## Chief Complaint (Jan 23, 2012)

Oculuck said:


> Alright, Thank you!



No problem, best of luck to you!


----------



## Joe (Jan 23, 2012)

i may or may not be slightly color blind (looks around to see if anyone important is looking) it hasnt effected me yet. i can see colors i just mix up green and a couple shades of red. doc cleared me so i guess it wasnt that bad. just check first or be really good at faking it


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

Joe said:


> i may or may not be slightly color blind (looks around to see if anyone important is looking) it hasnt effected me yet. i can see colors i just mix up green and a couple shades of red. doc cleared me so i guess it wasnt that bad. just check first or be really good at faking it



Lol.. Believe me, I am a PRO at faking it.. when a medic ask's for "THE GREEN ONEE!!" You wouldn't believe how fast I can read all the needles, and find the proper gauge! ;P


----------



## silver (Jan 23, 2012)

Oculuck said:


> I know almost everything, if not everything is not only color-coded, but like the needles have the gauge size on them as well.. That's how I grab the correct one.



Wouldn't not being able to properly differentiate colors then require you to look further into what it actually is by reading what it says?

Potentially reducing errors?


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

silver said:


> Wouldn't not being able to properly differentiate colors then require you to look further into what it actually is by reading what it says?
> 
> Potentially reducing errors?



I REALLY like the way you think!


----------



## bigbaldguy (Jan 23, 2012)

Oculuck said:


> Straight to the point, I want LOTS of opinions here...
> 
> I am colorblind, should I pursue a career in EMS or not?
> 
> ...



Absolutely there is no place in EMS for racism.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

bigbaldguy said:


> Absolutely there is no place in EMS for racism.



Racism?

Um... I don't follow?


----------



## bigbaldguy (Jan 23, 2012)

Lol sounded funnier in my head I guess. Being color blind is another way of saying you're not racist. I deliberately misconstrued the meaning in this context so as to create what was meant to be a humorous remark.

Let me start over (in monotone and completely humorless voice) No I don't think there is any reason you could not be in EMS due to your colorblindness.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

Lol.. at first I was like.. hmm is he being serious, or funny? So if you WERE being serious, I didn't want to like offend you, so that's why I said what I did. 

It has also been a VERY long day for me, my brain isn't firing on all cylinders.. 

Thanks for your input too!


----------



## bigbaldguy (Jan 23, 2012)

Oculuck said:


> Lol.. at first I was like.. hmm is he being serious, or funny? So if you WERE being serious, I didn't want to like offend you, so that's why I said what I did.
> 
> It has also been a VERY long day for me, my brain isn't firing on all cylinders..
> 
> Thanks for your input too!



No worries.


----------



## silver (Jan 23, 2012)

Oculuck said:


> I REALLY like the way you think!



I normally charge $175/hour for consultation. h34r:


----------



## JPINFV (Jan 23, 2012)

As long as you can identify the periwinkle box when running a code.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 23, 2012)

Mmm.. What's that, an EMT-S?

EMT-Shrink? Lol.. :rofl:


----------



## DesertMedic66 (Jan 24, 2012)

There was a pretty basic test for my company. You only had to see red yellow and green. No tricks.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 24, 2012)

firefite said:


> To help calm a friend down I told her that her sister is at a great hospital with smart and competent providers and that if I ever had to be a patient I would want to go there.
> 
> The first part is completely true. The second part not so much. I would never go to that hospital if I had a choice.



What does that have to do with me being colorblind? :blink:


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 24, 2012)

firefite said:


> There was a pretty basic test for my company. You only had to see red yellow and green. No tricks.



So basically they wanted to make sure you can read a traffic light properly?


----------



## DesertMedic66 (Jan 24, 2012)

Oculuck said:


> What does that have to do with me being colorblind? :blink:



Hahaha. I posted that on the wrong thread but fixed it. 

Yeah that was all it was. There were 3 huge boxes that were either red, green, or yellow. You just had to say what colors your saw up there.


----------



## Oculuck (Jan 24, 2012)

Lol.. I didn't have a CLUE what you were talking about. 

Damn, that is SUPER easy, even for me!


----------



## Lozenger19 (Jan 24, 2012)

I'm colour blind and am training as a paramedic. 

Colour blindness is recognised as a disability under the disability discrimination act, so they can't refuse to give you a job just because you're colour blind.

The only problem is... Are you allowed to drive? 
My colour blindness is so bad, that I can't see traffic lights so have been refused a driving licence


----------



## JPINFV (Jan 24, 2012)

Lozenger19 said:


> I'm colour blind and am training as a paramedic.
> 
> Colour blindness is recognised as a disability under the disability discrimination act, so they can't refuse to give you a job just because you're colour blind.
> 
> ...




It's not that you can't be fired or refused to be hired because you're color blind, reasonable accommodations must be provided. If all of the EMTs and paramedics are required to drive and, for what ever reason, you can't drive, would being an attendant only be considered a reasonable accommodation? For example, in California to be medically qualified for an ambulance driver certificate (same medical standards as a commercial vehicle driver license), you must be able to differentiate between red, green, and amber. 

Similarly, especially given how oversaturated the job market is in most places, try to prove that being color blind was the reason you weren't hired.


----------



## phideux (Jan 24, 2012)

I don't know if it disqualifies you or not, but when I took my physical to get hired, there was the color-blind test. 
Also alot of stuff is color coded:
Braslow tape
IV catheters
Triage tags
Blood draw sets


----------



## exodus (Jan 24, 2012)

JPINFV said:


> It's not that you can't be fired or refused to be hired because you're color blind, reasonable accommodations must be provided. If all of the EMTs and paramedics are required to drive and, for what ever reason, you can't drive, would being an attendant only be considered a reasonable accommodation? For example, in California to be medically qualified for an ambulance driver certificate (same medical standards as a commercial vehicle driver license), you must be able to differentiate between red, green, and amber.
> 
> Similarly, especially given how oversaturated the job market is in most places, try to prove that being color blind was the reason you weren't hired.



Just don't tell them until you're given a job offer.


----------



## mycrofft (Jan 24, 2012)

I think it will be up to you, but using color alone to identify anything, due to changing lighting conditions and lack of standards for many things, is an invitation to errors. In any system, color coding is never as good as some sort of alphanumeric code or good old big lettered labeling.

In fact, we were taught to disregard such things as color and patterns when we were taught to do stuff because even the same manufacturer can change colors between packaging years, or between different manufacturers.

As long as they market maroon scrubs (on which blood is nearly invisible when not yet faded by the laundry) and provides wear black shoes, I don't see where color sense plays much part in EMS except to appeal to buyers.


----------



## Aidey (Jan 24, 2012)

Super secret trick, all stop lights are in the same order. Red is always the top, color, amber the middle and green the bottom. If you can tell which light is lit up you don't have to be able to see colors.

I know some places have sideways lights, i think those are red to green from left to right but I'm not 100% sure. 

The entire traffic system is set up so you don't have to be able to read or see color to use it. There is a reason the stop sign is the only octagonal sign.


----------



## Veneficus (Jan 24, 2012)

phideux said:


> Braslow tape



On all the ones I have seen the name of the color is printed on the color strip.

I wonder why that is?


----------



## JPINFV (Jan 24, 2012)

Aidey said:


> Super secret trick, all stop lights are in the same order. Red is always the top, color, amber the middle and green the bottom. If you can tell which light is lit up you don't have to be able to see colors.
> 
> I know some places have sideways lights, i think those are red to green from left to right but I'm not 100% sure.
> 
> The entire traffic system is set up so you don't have to be able to read or see color to use it. There is a reason the stop sign is the only octagonal sign.



I never argued otherwise. I simply stated the physical requirements listed for a commercial drivers license, which are also used for a ambulance driver certificate. Counterpoint: flashing lights on vehicles approaching you or vehicles parked that you are approaching.


----------



## Aidey (Jan 27, 2012)

That wasn't aimed at you. It was aimed at the person above who said they had been refused a driver's license because they were color blind. While I'm sure state law varies, i thought it was worth pointing out color blindness doesn't automatically mean it is impossible to drive.


----------



## Emergency Laughter (Jan 28, 2012)

*color blindness*

I'm color blind and worked in EMS and surgery for 20 years without any issues. The only time I was told I couldn't do something was filling in at a dispatch center with a color coded computer program. Oh and nobody lets me paint their house anymore...

You should know the shades of color you have problems with so just be aware of it. Don't let it stop you.


----------



## Veneficus (Jan 28, 2012)

Emergency Laughter said:


> The only time I was told I couldn't do something was filling in at a dispatch center with a color coded computer program. Oh and nobody lets me paint their house anymore...



In other words no loss at all


----------



## Lozenger19 (Jan 28, 2012)

Aidey said:


> That wasn't aimed at you. It was aimed at the person above who said they had been refused a driver's license because they were color blind. While I'm sure state law varies, i thought it was worth pointing out color blindness doesn't automatically mean it is impossible to drive.



I assumed you were aiming this post at me?

Th reason I was refused a driving licence is because I can't see traffic lights. I can't even tell if I is traffic lights or a sign or what. I see a big black square and nothing else.

I'm not living in/ working in/ from america

I live and work in the UK


----------



## Riley (Feb 16, 2012)

I know you may have an issue getting signed off if they require a physical for your school. My basic school required one but my medic school did not. I know my doctor would have refused to sign off but she tested my colorblindness by using the vacuum tubes which are the common color coded methods.


----------



## Oculuck (Feb 18, 2012)

Riley said:


> I know you may have an issue getting signed off if they require a physical for your school. My basic school required one but my medic school did not. I know my doctor would have refused to sign off but she tested my colorblindness by using the vacuum tubes which are the common color coded methods.



The only test I have ever seen is the bubble letters/numbers that are in.. say red, and the background is green. Those are what I cannot tell the difference with, and that is what I am afraid the physical will have.


----------

