Converse sneakers at clinicals

KrCmommy522, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2017

At my school we had to wear white sneakers, but it didn't matter what brand. You will have to see what your school requires. From your post it seems as though they need to be white shoes. However, I doubt they require you to have a specific brand. If they require you to wear white and you have white converse sneakers and you think they are comfortable...wear them!! As long as you and your feet think they are comfortable and they are the required color (if your school requires a certain color) I think that would be fine.

JessieMari · Jun 26, 2017

Ours had to be white leather so if they have canvas on them it may be a problem...if you're looking to get ahead I'd just e-mail the nursing counselor and see if they can find out for you.

elkpark · Jun 26, 2017

Doesn't matter what anyone here says -- what matters is your school dress code. Different schools have different requirements. I suggest you review the school's dress code for clinical, and maybe ask someone at the school if you still have concerns after reviewing the dress code. Best wishes!

remotefuse · Jul 7, 2017

It would depend on the school. My nursing should required us to wear white nursing shoes.

Also, you might feel differently after actually working in them. I absolutely love chucks and vans, and tried wearing them once to work. Not a good idea. The hard floors combined with little support made my feet hurt like crazy. I was younger and never had feet pain before, but i wouldn't even try wearing them to work again.

TrashPanda · Jul 12, 2017

It is posts like these that make me smile. In our program (during the Stone Age), we had two choices: Nurse Mates and SOS. They had to be all white, leather, and lace up only. If we had tried to wear Converse or white PF Flyers, we'd have been booted home. Wear what your program tells you to wear.

TooManyCats, ASN, BSN · Jul 26, 2017

You'd be surprised how picky schools can be when it comes to shoes. Ours were ALL black, no hits of white/color, no mesh, all leather or non breathable material, no clogs, the list went on. Contact your school.

I will say, I wear chucks almost exclusively, and I have worn them to work one time. My feet paid the price. It's just a different ballgame. I don't even wear nursing specialized shoes either, I have a pair of Nike running shoes normally.

ICURN1028 · Jul 28, 2017

I agree with the above posters; the final answer will be your school's specific policy. Even if they do allow you to wear them, the lack of arch support after 12+ hours may have you hurting! It might benefit you to go to a runner's store and have your arch evaluated for the best fit. Good luck!

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 28, 2017

It is posts like these that make me smile. In our program (during the Stone Age), we had two choices: Nurse Mates and SOS. They had to be all white, leather, and lace up only. If we had tried to wear Converse or white PF Flyers, we'd have been booted home. Wear what your program tells you to wear.

I had those Clinic shoes that laced up the side- best shoes EVER. Had to polish them (does anyone polish shoes any more?) and wash and bleach the laces.

elkpark · Jul 28, 2017

I had those Clinic shoes that laced up the side- best shoes EVER. Had to polish them (does anyone polish shoes any more?) and wash and bleach the laces.

I had good experiences with Nursemates and SAS (I had one pair of each). I never actually bleached my shoelaces, but I put them through the laundry each week in one of those little mesh bags, and, yes, polished my shoes.

Good times ... :)

aubsn · Dec 25, 2017

Go with your school policy definitely.

I wore a pair of white leather Nikes for school. I now wear either my older nike running shoes I don't mind getting dirty or my pair of black converse. I'm trying to figure out if I should find a new pair of shoes, but so far my feet hurt no matter what I wear.

KashewKat, ADN, RN · Jan 11, 2018

I would make sure that you're comfortable being on your feet in your chucks for 8-12 hours a day. I wore mine on a trip to Chicago when I was walking 10-12 miles a day and severely regretted it. I had major blisters on the bottoms and sides of my feet and a couple of my toes were actually bleeding. For my STNA clinicals I wore my regular walking sneakers and was pretty okay on my feet all day but would've ended up painful feet in my converse.