Are nurses allowed to have their nails painted?

Nurses Professionalism

Published

I keep hearing nurses aren't allowed to wear acrylics, which I understand. Are nurses allowed to wear nail polish though? I love having my nails painted, but I don't mind giving this obsession up to be a nurse! :)

Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

You know, I read threads all the time about nursing losing respect and professionalism. If I were a patient and my nurse came in with sparkle nails or long fakes, I'd be uncomfortable. Short, simply painted not so much. Just saying......

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Specializes in Emergency Medicine.

i dont think it would be a problem as long as they arent all chipped and falling apart.Think of this;when your nails chip where do they go? exactly! you dont want people to find pieces of nail polish around! It could be a problem depending on your job though, some faculties are strict about it but others dont find any harm in it.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

we've known about all this since at least 2002, why is it even a debate anymore? although the op being new asked a good question.

"studies have documented that subungual areas of the hand harbor high concentrations of bacteria, most frequently coagulase-negative staphylococci, gram-negative rods (including pseudomonas spp.), corynebacteria, and yeasts (14,342,343). freshly applied nail polish does not increase the number of bacteria recovered from periungual skin, but chipped nail polish may support the growth of larger numbers of organisms on fingernails (344,345). even after careful handwashing or the use of surgical scrubs, personnel often harbor substantial numbers of potential pathogens in the subungual spaces (346--348)."

"recently, an outbreak of p. aeruginosa in a neonatal intensive care unit was attributed to two nurses (one with long natural nails and one with long artificial nails) who carried the implicated strains of pseudomonas spp. on their hands (350). patients were substantially more likely than controls to have been cared for by the two nurses during the exposure period, indicating that colonization of long or artificial nails with pseudomonas spp. may have contributed to causing the outbreak. "

[color=#333333]mmwr october 25, 2002 / 51(rr16);1-44 [color=#0b3d91]guideline for hand hygiene in health-care settings [color=#0b3d91]recommendations of the healthcare infection control practices advisory committee and the hicpac/shea/apic/idsa hand hygiene task force prepared by

john m. boyce, m.d.1

didier pittet, m.d.2

1hospital of saint raphael

new haven, connecticut

2university of geneva

geneva, switzerland

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Both hospitals I have worked for have been very outspoken about not having even nail polish. I always have my toenails done, but nothing on the fingers now. Maybe depending on what area you may be able to in some. I have recently started in a high acuity ICU where it is an absolute no-no. Our patients are already sick enough.

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We're not supposed to for reasons that others have highlighted, but a lot do and get away with it.

Me, I'm trying to embrace my newly ugly/rough hands as a part of the job, but it does make me sad sometimes. I love nail polish :(

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I don't understand how a nurse could even function at her job with fake acrylic nails? Where I work, digital feces removal is a regular task. Can you imagine a nurse with fake nails doing this??

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I don't understand how a nurse could even function at her job with fake acrylic nails? Where I work, digital feces removal is a regular task. Can you imagine a nurse with fake nails doing this??

Years ago there was a news report about something that happened at a local newborn/NICU nursery. The film coverage showed several nursery nurses attending infants with long (and I mean long enough to curl over and under) painted (fake?) nails.

My former Med/Surg I professors/instructors would have had a fit.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

We aren't allowed to have fake nails of any type. Nail polish in neutral colors is allowed if not chipped and less than four days old. My hands take a beating from being washed and hand sanitizer gelled. Polish doesn't even last a full shift. Tried it once, now I just have bright cheerful toenails and leave it at that.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I would hope being a healthcare worker you wouldn't need someone breathing down your neck to enforce such a policy, you would just want to do what's best for your patients and yourself by not wearing fake nails that can harbor and transmit germs.

This, and the resource JBudd reprinted in her post, is basically the stance the CDC takes in Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings, which extends to chipped polish as well. Higher levels of bacteria are present, so not wearing polish seems like the safest choice. In my case polish normally starts to chip that same day anyway, so it isn't worth the bother.

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Completely depends on the facility and the unit. some you are not allowed to at all and it is enforced. in others you are allowed to as long as it is not chipped and is a ligh color , in other facilities who knows what the policy is and nothing is enforced. I don't know what our policy is in rings but some nurses wear wedding bands/engagement rings which are just as likely to harbor bacteria as anything else. .......................

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I paint my nails, but the polish comes off with all of the hand

sanitizer that I use!

I would like to have a manicure but I'm not sure what in the

world to have done. Can't have fake nails. Can't have a

french manicure or have the nails painted; again the polish

just comes right off. Guess I'd just have to have my

cuticles done.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.
I would like to have a manicure but I'm not sure what in the

world to have done.

I'd go for the hand massage alone.

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