Banning Crocs?

nursesarah · Mar 14, 2007

we must work for the same people :rolleyes: i've heard this for about the past 6 months. my question is..could they really enforce it?

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Mar 14, 2007

I attended an orientation today for new students. One of the topics raised was the school uniform and shoes. One of the orientees asked specifically about Crocs. The answer we got (as to why they were not allowed) was related to safety issues, concerning the holes in them and how any number of body fluids could be spilled on them and your feet. The speaker also stated things like no open heels, no open toes, etc for the same reason.

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2007

I am an RN in one of the largest LTC facilities in Ontario (320 beds) and I am also the infection control officer.
I have been wearing Crocs, the Professional model and the Relief model, both without top-vents, for some time now, as have many of my colleagues.
Recently, my employer announced it is undertaking a study into the infection control/health & safety aspects of Crocs in the workplace in the hopes of having them banned due to their risks of infection/transmission/injury to workers.
Does anyone have any experience with a similar undertaking at your workplace?
Are there any peer-reviewed studies on Crocs in the workplace?
My belief is that, not only are they beneficial to the health of the worker (comfort), but the inherent anti-microbial properties of the material and the ease of disinfecting the footwear far outweigh any perceived risks of infection, transmission of disease or risk of injury.
Thanks

I worry more about the germs etc on my ID badge than on my shoes. We were our ID badges around our neck and they constantly get in the way (I ususally end up taking mine off because I don't want it falling in the feces I'm cleaning up!) I don't see how they be concerned about shoes carrying infection - your shoes don't come in contact with anything but the floor!

I read an article somewhere (Reader's digest??) about germs in the hosptial. Two of the most common carriers were ID badges and narcotic keys! Think about it - when was the last time you wiped off your badge??

TraumaICURN · Mar 14, 2007

I was told in hospital orientation about 6 or 7 months ago that we were not allowed to wear the Crocs, particularly the ones with the holes in the top. The ban had something to do with dropping needles into the holes :confused:

ND76 · Mar 14, 2007

A little OT, but heck, you can drop needles without wearing crocs!

My first needle stick was just that...a 'drop.' I dropped a full saline flush syringe with an 18 gauge needle attached to the end, and watched in slow motion horror as the thing fell and pierced through the mesh top of my New Balance tennis shoes and stuck, standing straight up, with the needle going in the top of my foot, right between my big and second toe. It didn't hurt, it was a 'clean' needle, so I pulled it out and didn't give it a second thought.

That was, until 5 minutes later when I felt like my sock was wet. I figured that some saline had squirted out, so I took off my shoe. My sock was soaked on top with blood. It was so gross. I ended up with a big bruise around the puncture site, too, and my supervisor made me go to Employee Health anyway, because she was afraid I'd get compartment syndrome (why, I don't know..)

CRNI-ICU20 · Mar 14, 2007

Maybe we should just wrap ourselves in Kevalar saran wrap!!

How about going NEEDLESS??? isn't that a mandate?

As for the infection control?? for feet??? are you kidding me? Anyone who has worked in OR, or other types of environments will tell you that anything below the waist is considered 'unsterile' anyway....so whatEVER you wear on your feet isn't the issue...

I don't think bacteria is discriminating between a pair of Crocs as opposed to a pair of Nike's....

I think there are good arguments for Crocs....so I am not sure where this is coming from.....

since we seem to live in such an 'evidenced based' medical society now.....why not ask that LTC employer/administrator just where the evidence based conclusions are coming from?

Betcha' a Dunkin' Donut she doesn't know...

yadda_yadda_yadda, LPN, LVN · Mar 14, 2007

Hmmm...

If the nurses are wearing the 'Professional' style, I don't see Infection Control's issue.

I work in a clinical setting & wear the 'Mary Jane' and 'Prima' styles....both have holes on top. I wore the 'Professional' style in LTC, though.

The open-heel feature isn't an Infection Control risk...if anything, it's a safety concern....but nurses everywhere wear clogs, so it's not any different.

I hope this trend to ban these shoes doesn't spread.

allnurses Guide · Mar 14, 2007

I don't see how they be concerned about shoes carrying infection - your shoes don't come in contact with anything but the floor!

Well, I regularly have to disinfect my shoes and I still won't wear them inside my own home.

As an example, the elderly gentlemen with pneumonia who was incontinent of feces and urine who dripped all the way to the shower so there was "stuff" on the floor from the bed to the shower. Or the blood on the floor after a baby is born.

We have one doc who wears Crocs and we all dread him in L&D. He makes such a bloody mess and walks out in those shoes and leaves footprints of blood all the way down the hall. Of course he would do that with whatever kind of shoes he wore.

Shoes are probably one of the most dirty parts of what we wear everyday.

Although I don't see the difference between Crocs and running shoes.

steph

lizzyberry · Mar 14, 2007

What about wearing steel toe boots :lol2: crocs

CritterLover, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2007

shoes are probably one of the most dirty parts of what we wear everyday.
although i don't see the difference between crocs and running shoes.
steph

completely agree about shoes being dirty (though i get the above point about the name tags :) )

thing is, all shoes get dirty. crocs (and others like them) are sooooo easy to clean. the same disinfectant cloths, or dispatch (spray bleach) on a rag will clean them easily. nikes are harder to clean.

i used to have daskos, and i really loved them. but they were suede, and i couldn't get them clean. mine were navy, and there were places where i could see old, dried blood. yuck.

i do agree, though, that the crocs with the holes on the top shouldn't be worn in acute care. the shoes may be easy to clean if blood gets on them, but the socks underneath arn't. not only that, but the socks don't provide much of a barrier between blood (or whatever) and skin. i used to have the crocs that only had the side vents, and the only problem i had was with puddles when it rained. now they have crocs without any holes, and i like them much better. they are harder to find, though.

PANurseRN1 · Mar 14, 2007

Maybe we should just wrap ourselves in Kevalar saran wrap!!
How about going NEEDLESS??? isn't that a mandate?
As for the infection control?? for feet??? are you kidding me? Anyone who has worked in OR, or other types of environments will tell you that anything below the waist is considered 'unsterile' anyway....so whatEVER you wear on your feet isn't the issue...
I don't think bacteria is discriminating between a pair of Crocs as opposed to a pair of Nike's....
I think there are good arguments for Crocs....so I am not sure where this is coming from.....
since we seem to live in such an 'evidenced based' medical society now.....why not ask that LTC employer/administrator just where the evidence based conclusions are coming from?
Betcha' a Dunkin' Donut she doesn't know...

LOL! Asolutely true!