This is my first post on allnurses, and I wasnt sure where to ask this question...Hopefully I dont make anyone mad if its in the wrong spot!
I am a student and at my school we cannot have acrylic fingernails (I feel like this is standard in nursing schools). One of my peers is taking it hard that she had to take hers off when school started. She states that once she graduates, passes the NCLEX and secures a job that she will get her nails back. I feel like getting her nails back is what is keeping her in nursing school.
I was wondering if current nurses could shed some light to me, so maybe I can pass some info along to her or I can just make her stop talking about it because I hear about it on a daily basis.
We are allowed to wear ONLY clear polish, and if it starts chipping, it had BETTER be taken care of or no pt. contact.
Our director actually mentioned that OSHA forbids fake nails for anyone having pt. contact. I haven't taken the time to verify that statement, and I probably won't as she is VERY straight forward and lacks that B.S. gene a lot of people have.
I'm not in the program yet...but at our school fake nails are also a no-no. I've never had long nails and it's not important to me. I'm a birth doula and lactation counselor so I keep them fingertip length, naked, and in good shape. I also wanted to add that I take my rings off when attending a birth or working with a baby so as not to scratch anyone accidentally. I do paint my toes!!
I'm taking Micro this semester and I take my rings off in there also so as not to rip through my gloves. I would be afraid that fake nails would easily rip the gloves.
Maybe you could tell your classmate about all the bacteria SHE could aquire that could be harmful to her. We did that finger thing in agar and it was disgusting what grew!
We had this totally ghetto girl in the mandatory seminar we went to the semester before we began nursing school, and when she heard that fake nails were not allowed, she said "*** that!" and walked out. So I'm like, "Great, give up a potential $40k/year job so you can keep your nails and work for $8/hr at the Burger King for the rest of your life." LOL! What a pathetic life decision!!!
Acrylic nails is a huge no-no - BIG INFECTION RISK! In the NICU at a hospital, there were suddenly a lot of patients dying, but they didn't know why. After some investigation, it turned out it was NURSE with ACRYLIC NAILS who caused all of those deaths, because underneath those nails she was harboring all of that bacteria...and we know that little babies, especially NICU babies, don't have strong immune systems like healthy adults do. This is why you can't have fake nails and your natural nails must be kept short. Even if you're diligent with washing your hands, you can still harbor bacteria under those nails.
This is my first post on allnurses, and I wasnt sure where to ask this question...Hopefully I dont make anyone mad if its in the wrong spot!
I am a student and at my school we cannot have acrylic fingernails (I feel like this is standard in nursing schools). One of my peers is taking it hard that she had to take hers off when school started. She states that once she graduates, passes the NCLEX and secures a job that she will get her nails back. I feel like getting her nails back is what is keeping her in nursing school.
I was wondering if current nurses could shed some light to me, so maybe I can pass some info along to her or I can just make her stop talking about it because I hear about it on a daily basis.
Thanks
Every facility is different, but most facilities will not permit you to wear acrylic nails IF YOU ARE INVOLVED in direct patient care.
I understand how she feels, trust me. People that have nails that won't grow or are thin and rip don't understand what a godsend acrylics were and I am very, very self-conscious about my hands and constantly hide them because they look so bad.
It was like my secruity blanket was taken away and I get them replaced anytime I have a long stretch off from work.
We were told on our first skills day, we are not allowed nail polish or acrylic/gel nails during class/clinical/or the workforce. Not only is it an obvious breeding ground for bacteria, it looks very unprofessional. Nevermind missing a fake nail or wearing chipped polish. It sends the message that you're not able to take care of yourself, nevermind the pt.
You don't want to be scratching your pts either, or digging your nails into them when you're turning them. Gross. How many people with long nails actually clean out underneath them on a routine basis? Probably not the majority.
We had a similiar discussion today in my communications class about tattoos and piercings. I'm surprised how many students brought up that, as nurses, we have to leave our biases and opinions at the door, and pts should be able to do the same. To me, Its not just a personal opinion, but culture and age related as well. You want to make your pts feel comfortable, if that means having to cover up your tatts, I don't see the big deal.
Nail polish is not unprofessional (if a neutral color) and I will disagree with infection control all day long that chipped polish is a breeding ground for anything, as the polish that remains on the nail is bonded to the nail.
A more reasonable theory is that if the polish is chipping, then it could shed on a patient.
I do wear nail polish that is not chipped because by the time I see the first chip, the rest keeps chippping away fairly quickly.
I'm glad I don't strongly oppose these rules. I had acrylics before, but hated them with a passion...and I'm a nail biter, so this all works out for me nail-wise. On the other hand, being stupid at a young age, left me with a tattoo on my wrist, that lots of people judged by. It was a Heartagram, but so many people had a fit, thinking it was a Pentagram or devil-related when it is definitely not...so that resulted in a coverup within a couple years because I got so tired of people stopping and preaching to me. I now have a pretty good-sized orchid on my wrist. If I have to cover that up, I'm by all means fine with it. I also have a tiny one on my neck behind my ear, I can easily cover that one up with a band-aid. Rules are rules and you might as well abide by them and not argue if this is what you want your career to be! :)
i think having acrylics as a nurse is a terrible idea..... but when i did my ER rotation there were at least 3 nurses i noticed that had them, and one of them had an additional job at another hospital in the area, so im guessing they were permitted there too...
the worst thing is one of the nurses with fake nails had to put her finger in this one patients rectum (gloved of course) to get a little bit of stool to test for something.... what if that sharp acrylic nail punctured the glove! or that ladies bowl?! grossssssssss.
- BIG INFECTION RISK! In the NICU at a hospital, there were suddenly a lot of patients dying, but they didn't know why. After some investigation, it turned out it was NURSE with ACRYLIC NAILS who caused all of those deaths, because underneath those nails she was harboring all of that bacteria...and we know that little babies, especially NICU babies, don't have strong immune systems like healthy adults do. This is why you can't have fake nails and your natural nails must be kept short. Even if you're diligent with washing your hands, you can still harbor bacteria under those nails.
KristeyK
285 Posts
We are allowed to wear ONLY clear polish, and if it starts chipping, it had BETTER be taken care of or no pt. contact.
Our director actually mentioned that OSHA forbids fake nails for anyone having pt. contact. I haven't taken the time to verify that statement, and I probably won't as she is VERY straight forward and lacks that B.S. gene a lot of people have.