When you’re on your feet for 12 hours at a time…you’re going to want to take care of those feet. Nursing, specifically bedside patient care, will murder your feet. After just a few years of clinical practice you can anticipate varicose veins and spider veins in your legs as well. Wearing the proper shoes can go a long way to making your life as a busy nurse a LOT more comfortable.
Every nursing school, particularly undergraduate programs, have rigid dress codes that include uniform, jewelry, use of fragrances, personal hygiene and more that clearly inform students of what flies and what doesn’t.
Before you run out and buy a pair of kick-butt shoes for your student clinicals make sure you are informed of the dress code that applies to style of shoes. You could make an early mistake in dropping $100+ bucks on a NICE pair of trendy new shoes all the RNs are wearing only to discover that your student handbook limits you to one particular style.
You can cut an individual dress code pathway once you are a full-fledged RN, but as a student you might quickly be expelled from clinicals if you decide to buck the system.
Pro RNs wear appropriate nursing styles from Birkenstock, Dansko, and even brightly colored hard-shell clogs from a variety of vendors.
Nursing appropriate shoes may include:
Let’s say your only requirement is “white and closed toe”—that gives you the chance to check out a wide variety of nursing appropriate shoes including those in some of the hottest brands for professional nurses.
Advice for student nurse shoe buying:
Here’s the thing: plenty of high-quality shoe stores have regular customers that work as RNs and therefore take special care to keep a good supply of different styles appropriate for healthcare professionals.