I have a very important question that I'm hoping to get some help with:
My girlfriend is an RN and we've been dating for a couple years now. I've been saving up for an engagement ring (although buying one is still about a year away), and I'm pretty sure I have the design and what-not down but a thought occurred to me recently: what will she do with the ring while at work?
Something tells me that a diamond ring would get in the way of her day-to-day operations, and while I know she'd want to wear it, I wouldn't want it to impede her duties (which she obviously takes seriously).
So my question is this: what are some of the solutions you all have come up with regarding similar situations? Do you have a less expensive secondary ring you wear? Or do you just go ringless when you're on' shift?
When I got engaged, it was with my grandmother's engagement ring, a very dear object to both my fiance and me. I also have a very beautiful ring of hers, what would probably be called a cocktail ring, but Miss Manners says you can wear them all the time if they're heirlooms, and I do :)
When I worked in bedside care I couldn't bear the idea of leaving them at home because it would kill me if the house got burgled or burnt down. So ... I put a small safety pin on the left strap of each of my bras (I'm right-handed). If I forgot to take off my rings and put them on there before I left the house, I could do it as soon as I got to work. The pins went through the laundry without difficulty, I had my rings all the time, and life was good. As a bonus, I always had those safety pins handy if I had to take the rings off for yard work or at camp or something.
Your affianced may not always be in patient care, so she will get to wear that lovely token all the time someday. (I do)
I don't wear my ring to work because I could scratch someone with it and for infection control purposes. It rips gloves very easily. It also slides off easily when it's wet. When I'm working I don't want to worry about my jewelry.
I think it upsets my husband, but I told him we're still married whether I wear the ring or not.
If it's a trust issue then you probably shouldn't get married. I'm not saying that to be mean or as a smart aleck. I've been married for 15 years and I've seen a thing or two. If you have doubts now, get them resolved before you're married. A divorce isn't as easy as you'd think it is.
I work in the OR, and I'm not married, I'm single. In this specialty, we play by a different set of rules. As well we should - post op infections can be deadly. Patients place a great deal of trust in us.
Per our infection control policy we can wear rings unless we are scrubbing (pretty much a given). We can wear earrings and we can wear necklaces. We can even wear gel/traditional nail polish provided that the polish is totally intact without nicks/scratches/peeling edges. I don't bother with regular polish - the regular alcohol hand rub will cause it to get flaky let alone if I tried to use the waterless scrub if I was scrubbing. I have on several occasions worn gel polish - enough to know I don't really like it that much for long term use/use at work and I don't trust it.
I don't generally even wear a watch. When I was a floor nurse I always did...I was scared to be without a watch - what if something happened and no one had the time. Turns out - the likelihood of that is beyond scarce. There are clocks everywhere in my work areas (pre-op/OR Holding, intra op, post op). One less thing to lose. Speaking of losing? I work a surgeon who has lost their wedding band multiple times. Don't get me wrong - the stories are funny but I don't think it was funny in the moment.
You can still buy her the engagement ring she wants/you wanna give. If it's got a diamond, she can leave it at home during work, or wear it on a necklace. I have also seen some nurses pen them to their scrubs with a safety pen.
In my unit, the only jewelry, including a watch, we can wear is a plan band. You can also purchase this for cheaper and she can wear it to work in the real ring's place.
This! I've seen a lot of female OR staff pinning theirs to their top with a safety pin. I would be terrified I I would lose it- I don't have the best track record for losing things, although I never lost something like that.
I wear my wedding band, and wear the engagement ring at times while working.
I would find out what she feels about it and wearing it to work. Nursing involves a lot of stuff that involves gloves and a ring can tear the gloves. It can also catch on fragile skin causing a skin tear. We also bang our hands on equipment (like stubborn old siderails) and the stone could get loose and/or fall out. Personally, what I do is wear my engagement ring outside of work. I wear my plain, smooth gold wedding band to work(did not have the two sealed together so that I could wear it separately). A lot of isolation patients aren't on isolation until a few days of exposure unfortunately too, so the germs are on the ring and brought home to share with the family. Infection control purposes, it's just best to leave the pretty stuff at home.
Sometimes it's about more than the material. My rings, and his, were blessed during our wedding. That's irreplaceable. Plus, my wedding band is custom made, and the engagement ring style hasn't been made in 20 years, so replacing my set would be impossible. It's not worth that much risk, to me, to wear it during a certain 36 hours of the week.
I understand if there is sentimental value associated with it, but that's very dependent upon the person. I love my ring but if something happened to it, I wouldn't be devastated since it is just something material that can be replaced (in my case). To each his own though. I understand where you are coming from.
I understand if there is sentimental value associated with it, but that's very dependent upon the person. I love my ring but if something happened to it, I wouldn't be devastated since it is just something material that can be replaced (in my case). To each his own though. I understand where you are coming from.
Well said, Emilija. I will celebrate my 16th wedding anniversary this fall. My engagement and wedding rings were special gifts bought for me by my husband. They symbolize the sacrament of marriage and the covenant we made when we spoke our vows, all those years ago. That is precisely why I always wear them, every day, everywhere (except to the beach and pool.)
Well said, Emilija. I will celebrate my 16th wedding anniversary this fall. My engagement and wedding rings were special gifts bought for me by my husband. They symbolize the sacrament of marriage and the covenant we made when we spoke our vows, all those years ago. That is precisely why I always wear them, every day, everywhere (except to the beach and pool.)
I'm getting a little tired of this attitude. They're exactly the same to me. Obeying the realities of my workplace doesn't lessen that.
I'm getting a little tired of this attitude. They're exactly the same to me. Obeying the realities of my workplace doesn't lessen that.
Red Krypt, you are all over this forum, sharing your thoughts and opinions every day. Today I am sharing mine. Not every nurse works where you work, and not every nurse chooses to leave their wedding ring in the jewelry box.
Some units don't even allow plain gold bands. They are an infection hazard.
Also, if your finances are such that you have to save up for several months to buy the ring, then you shouldn't be buying it. It is too expensive for you. Be sensible and start your marriage off with something you can well-afford. Later, when you are rich, you can buy her a fancy diamond wedding ring for a significant anniversary. I know that wasn't what you were asking, but I can't watch a train happen without saying at something to try to prevent it.
One of my favorite ER docs has a very simple plain engagement ring. She can well afford a rock five times the size, but a tiny chip is what they could afford when they got engaged. She's never upgraded, and I think it's so romantic, and speaks to true love, not materialism, as the basis of their partnership.
nurseprnRN, BSN, RN
1 Article; 5,116 Posts
When I got engaged, it was with my grandmother's engagement ring, a very dear object to both my fiance and me. I also have a very beautiful ring of hers, what would probably be called a cocktail ring, but Miss Manners says you can wear them all the time if they're heirlooms, and I do :)
When I worked in bedside care I couldn't bear the idea of leaving them at home because it would kill me if the house got burgled or burnt down. So ... I put a small safety pin on the left strap of each of my bras (I'm right-handed). If I forgot to take off my rings and put them on there before I left the house, I could do it as soon as I got to work. The pins went through the laundry without difficulty, I had my rings all the time, and life was good. As a bonus, I always had those safety pins handy if I had to take the rings off for yard work or at camp or something.
Your affianced may not always be in patient care, so she will get to wear that lovely token all the time someday. (I do)