Best shoes for clinicals

Nurses Uniform/Gear

Published

I want everyone's take on which shoes are the best for clinical purposes. I want something that will treat my feet well, but at the same time I don't want to spend a car payment on a pair of specialized nursing shoes for my school uniform only to be hired at a hospital with strict dress codes. My thoughts on this is that I'll use my time in school to experiment with several pairs of affordable shoes to find out what my feet like, then splurge on the expensive stuff once I graduate. I have heard that some of the more inexpensive brands (new balance, Nike, reebok) are great. I'm asking which brand/model everyone wore for clinicals. My school isn't very strict--just has to be white closed toe shoes. I want something close to leather that I can wipe off though.

BeachsideRN, ASN

1,722 Posts

Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

Go to your local scrub store and try on every brand and style they have. It all depends on your foot and arch

roser13, ASN, RN

6,504 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Please, oh, please do a search here. You will find literally thousands of shoe opinions.

BeachsideRN, ASN

1,722 Posts

Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.

Personally I like my Danskos for clinical (but I also managed to buy them at half price, I don't think they are $120 awesome, other people might). I wear adidas in the ER where I work. I had a pair of nurse mate Haley that I liked at first but then my arches started hurting.

Also I think compression socks are more important than the shoes. I love the EcoSox brand they are soft and my legs/feet aren't aching after 13 hours

Mrs.Bookworm

354 Posts

These are pretty comfortable.

Erythropoiesis

305 Posts

Please, oh, please do a search here. You will find literally thousands of shoe opinions.

I have been. For two days I've been creepin' on the old threads but very often every time I say "Oh! I think those shoes would work!" I go to search for them and they're no longer being sold because the thread is 2+ years old. Hence the request for insight on what people are currently wearing ;)

Erythropoiesis

305 Posts

Personally I like my Danskos for clinical (but I also managed to buy them at half price, I don't think they are $120 awesome, other people might). I wear adidas in the ER where I work. I had a pair of nurse mate Haley that I liked at first but then my arches started hurting.

Also I think compression socks are more important than the shoes. I love the EcoSox brand they are soft and my legs/feet aren't aching after 13 hours

I will have to look into the compression socks. If I can luck into some half priced Danskos I will surely give them a try as well. I'm just afraid of buying something that feels great in the store but then 3 months down the road I'm hurting in a pair of $150 shoes!

HeySis, BSN, RN

435 Posts

Specializes in PACU.

I bought a pair of Santina Clogs (I used to have a pair of cherokee rockers clogs that I loved but they don't make them anymore)

I like my Santina's but my feet are super wide so I took them to a cobbler to have them stretched... also although my nursing school handbook said we had to have white leather they didn't enforce it, so I bought mine in black... the hospitals around here could care less the color of your shoes as long as they cover the toes and don't slip on slick floors (read crocs).

I tried on a pair of AnyWear clogs and if my feet hand't been so wide I would have gone with those. ($35).

oceanblue52

462 Posts

I think Danskos are WAY over rated. They are good for eliminating back pain but I get shin splints walking too far in them and have rolled my ankle and fallen more times than I can count (and this was with a fitting at a specialty store). Can't know till you try them on but hard to go wrong with a plain black or white tennis shoe/clog (depending on school uniform). Haven't worked at a place yet that has been strict about color and type, as long as t follows the obvious (close toed, no open back, can protect you from spills and needles, etc.).

RNMichi2be

27 Posts

I'm starting nursing school in October and I already work 12s as a CNA I purchased a pair of Dankso's and they are not doing it for I'm looking into buying a pair of alegria's they are supposed to be really good.

Specializes in Emergency.

New Balance

Erythropoiesis

305 Posts

I think Danskos are WAY over rated. They are good for eliminating back pain but I get shin splints walking too far in them and have rolled my ankle and fallen more times than I can count (and this was with a fitting at a specialty store). Can't know till you try them on but hard to go wrong with a plain black or white tennis shoe/clog (depending on school uniform). Haven't worked at a place yet that has been strict about color and type, as long as t follows the obvious (close toed, no open back, can protect you from spills and needles, etc.).

Nice to know. I tend to get shin splints easily if I'm not in a shoe with enough support.

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