The correct color code triage system for disaster patients is as follows:

Appeared in: GMCH - 2015

Explanation

The Green color tag is correctly assigned to patients with minor injuries in a disaster triage system.
These patients are often called the 'walking wounded' because they are ambulatory and have non-life-threatening conditions.
According to the START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) protocol, green-tagged patients have the lowest priority for treatment and can wait several hours for medical care.

Option A: Blue is not a standard color in primary disaster triage systems like START. It does not represent minor injuries.
Option C: The Yellow color tag is for 'Delayed' care, not 'Critically ill'. These patients have serious injuries but are currently stable enough to wait for treatment.
Option D: White is not a standard triage color for deceased patients. The universally recognized color for deceased or expectant (unsalvageable) patients is Black.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Disaster Triage Color Coding System as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Accurate triage is a critical nursing skill during mass casualty incidents (MCIs) to ensure that limited medical resources are allocated to do the most good for the most people.
Nurses often take a leading role in triage, making rapid, critical decisions under pressure that directly impact patient survival rates.
What if? If a patient with a stable abdominal wound (Yellow) is mistakenly tagged as Green, their treatment could be dangerously delayed, leading to internal bleeding and shock. This highlights the importance of accurate and systematic assessment.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question about a standard nursing protocol.
Identify the core concept from the question: 'correct color code triage system'.
Systematically evaluate each option against your knowledge of the standard START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) protocol.
Analyze Option A (Blue): Recall that blue is not a primary triage color. Eliminate it.
Analyze Option C (Yellow): Recall that yellow is for delayed care, not critical illness. Eliminate it.
Analyze Option D (White): Recall that black, not white, is used for deceased victims. Eliminate it.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics(2024) — Volume 1 p. 585-587

E6 Comprehensive Textbook of Community Health Nursing for BSc Nursing Students Part 2 — Subpart B (pp 276-535 of 550) p. 178-180

Practise the full GMCH - 2015

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.