An important part of a nurse's job is to read patient charts and carry out written instructions from physicians. This requires normal or corrected vision, and the ability to read small print. In general, nursing schools may refuse admission to blind applicants if they feel the person could not fulfill basic duties required of a nurse. Some schools, however, do accept blind applicants. Nurses with vision deficiencies may practice in labor and delivery, nursing homes and other medical specialties, according to the American Foundation for the Blind.
Nurses also must have normal depth perception abilities. Assessing a patient's status and conducting routine physical tests requires the ability to judge distance. According to O-Net Online, normal depth perception is a moderately important skill for nurses. Nursing schools do not generally reject applicants based on this vision problem, though they may request that the depth perception deficiency be corrected whenever possible.
The ability to judge color is important when assessing patients with rashes, reading blood or urine test strips, and noting changes in a patient's color. Nursing schools do not reject applicants based on colorblindness, however, students may require special accommodations to effectively assess patient status.