How do you wear your hair for clinicals?

Nursing Students General Students

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I've been hearing that our clinical instructors are super picky about our appearance at clinicals (As they should be!). Our hair cannot touch our collars but I'm afraid that a ponytail may be looked down on as being sloppy?! I want to look like I care about my appearance but I don't want to spend a long time in doing my hair when I have to be there at 5:30 am!!! Any ideas?

Specializes in None.

Well I have dredlocks, and they are not super long yet, so I usually wear a headband, or wear my hair in a pony tail. Maybe you should try a bun type of hair style

Throw it in a ponytail- you will find that not only are most of your classmates sporting the same 'do, most of the staff at the facility probably has theirs up in a ponytail too. When it comes down to it, you're not there to put on a fashion show, and you will appreciate the fact that your hair isn't all over the place (as will your patients). My clinical instructor last semester was VERY picky about hair too- couldn't touch our collar, and mine was really long at the time- I just put it up in a pony tail and then pulled through the ponytail holder 1/2 more time to keep the hair up and off my collar. I eventually got my hair cut shorter though, because it was just easier to deal with!

Specializes in Trauma & Emergency.

We HAD to wear our hair in a bun for LPN--but I am planning on wearing it in a ponytail for RN school--Most nurses have their hair up in ponytails if your lucky..others leave all of their hair going down their back--I can only imagine the things that must splash up in there.

i wear my hair in a ponytail!

Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

My clinicals course manual says we have to wear long hair back in a ponytail (unless we wear it up). I was thinking of putting it in a ponytail, and then taking the end of the ponytail up and over and sort of threading it through the middle and pulling it back down. It's easy to do and just looks a little better than a plain pony. It also covers the rubber band, which is good in my case because we're supposed to wear hair accessories that match our hair and it's hard to find some that go with my red hair!

It looks really nice when I do it on my daughters' hair, anyway. It's hard to explain how to do it, but maybe you can figure out what I'm talking about :D.

Well, what else can you do? If you are looking for something a little bit more "professional" whip your hair up in one of the claws, clippy things. You don't have to worry about the texture of your hair b/c it will all be swept up and your hair won't be on your collar--SCORE!

P.S. I will wear mine in a pony

It is unlikely that anyone will judge you for having your hair in a pony tail (vs being off your collar in some other way).

If you want to have it up in another way for your own fashion taste...well, you need to do what you need to do....but as far as a nursing school, I wouldn't stress about it. You will have PLENTY of other things to stress about :)

Get your hair cut or wear in a ponytail or bun. Seriously, you're going to be so tired each morning the last thing you will care about is how to do your hair each morning. And no one else will care either or notice. :p

Specializes in Hospice & Palliative Care, Oncology, M/S.

I have a few friends who have very long hair like I do (bum length), and I always ask them how they wear their hair to work. They usually keep it up in a bun or other updo that is very secure and won't come crashing down into a bedpan. French braids folded into a bun are very nice and don't pull on your head like a ponytail might. :)

I have a buzz cut

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

My hair is not very long to begin with, but I always keep it pulled back into a bun during clinical rotations and at all other times.

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