wedding rings at work

Beary-nice · May 17, 2006

i think there was a thread about this not long ago or something similar about wearing wedding rings anyhoo...

i have a plain band that i wear. my engagement ring we had special made, it is a solitare that is set deep in a wide band. i got it made that way because for one i liked it and two..so i could wear it to work. my jeweler has told me that gloves esp the powdered kind are hard on diamonds...so i take the engagement ring off and leave it at home...i do not want to lose my solitare...though it is insured. i have seen coworkers lose their stones over the years.

in a past engagement, i had a ring with a high pronged setting and i ended up accidently giving a pt a skin tear of which i still cannot forgive myself for, so that can happen.

also, not to mention the germs that jewelry carries around on it...eeeewwww! i was always told less to none is best.

vaughanmk · May 17, 2006

I am a little protective of my wedding ring since it ws my grandmother's. The alcohol foam cleansers were horrible on the ring. One year for Christmas my husband went out and bought me a cheap band without any stone on it specifically to wear to work. I love being able to wear it and not worry about if it gets destroyed.

beautifulb · May 17, 2006

I definetely wear my wedding ring at work. Rarely do I take it off except to clean it and doing heavy housework. I know that it has been brought up before that it is an infection control issue however, as we all do, I wash my hands thoroughly and religously. Most of the nurses that I work with wear their rings.

nhelkhound · May 17, 2006

I never wear any rings when I am working. I don't want to risk harming my patient. I don't want to risk losing my ring. I am absolutely amazed by the assortment of rings I have seen worn by professionals who provide direct patient care. Especially the ones with multiple stones and a gazillion scratchy prongs! Ouch!

debsuztx · May 17, 2006

I didn't wear my "real" wedding ring to work/clinicals because the setting is a marquise (sp?) and sets up too high, plus when putting on gloves, the diamond would rip the gloves. I went to Walmart and my husband bought me a plain gold band with some etching around the band (I think about $45) and it actually matches his wedding ring. I heard from others that they have lost the diamonds out of their rings, so I wouldn't even want to chance losing the diamond or the ring, because I know I wouldn't be getting a replacement for that ring!

Travellpro · May 17, 2006

Sounds like if I'm married when I start, I'll wear mine on a necklace rings together and I told him and the jeweler that I was concerned about having the diamond set up so high and the jeweler said not to worry about it. He was trying to sell us the most expensive ring and didn't care about what our concerns were. I thought, what a jerk and so we left.

GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN · May 17, 2006

I wear my plain gold band. It does not get gunky, since I am careful to wash it and underneath it when I wash my hands. My engagement ring and anniversary band stay at home. I do not want the stones scratching pts, getting lost, or carrying around bacteria.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · May 17, 2006

Hi All,
I'm just curious if nurses even wear their wedding rings at work. Does it get in the way when you put gloves on, or get full of soap and lotion gunk?
Scratch people?
Do you wish you had a different style that worked better?
Just curious what most nurses do.
Tofutti

When I first started school, we were told that only plain bands were acceptable: no stones of any kind, no engravings, because germs can hide in there no matter how well you think you wash (does anyone take a tiny stiff-bristled brush to their rings every time they wash, between patients?!?).

I thought that was a little over the top (at the time). I started by just not wearing my wedding set. Then a well-meaning pt kept trying to fix me up with "my son, the doctor", LOL.....and I immediately went to Walmart, spent $40 on a plain gold band, and that was that. My "Hospital Ring" was born :)

Frankly, I prefer wearing no ring at all. If I forget to put on the Hospital Ring, I don't wear any! My husband doesn't care; he's not easily threatened or jealous, he knows we're married

When I'm wearing the Hospital Ring I know I'm not going to scratch anyone, nor take anything nasty from one patient to another, or, worse yet: bring germs HOME!!

rnurse2b · May 17, 2006

My hubby and I picked out the anniversary set so that I could wear my wedding ring to work and not worry about tearing gloves, giving patients skin tears or worry about loosing diamonds. I am very careful to clean my ring each time I wash my hands so that I don't have to worry about germs (also I have my ring professionally cleaned regularly).

CIRQL8 · May 17, 2006

In the OR, we are not supposed to wear jewelry - bacteria, you know. I was also taught in nursing school not to wear cologne to the hospital. Patients have allergies, and the smell can be overpowering for many who are ill, NPO, etc. We are, however, allowed to wear low-profile earings, if kept covered by our hair bonnets. As I am a man, I have no problem not wearing jewelry that I don't wear anyway!! My wedding band is plain - gold - no etchings. I clip it to a belt-loop with my watch when I cange into scrubs. My wife wants to but me a fancier wedding band when the day comes that I am no longer in the OR.

luvmy2angels · May 17, 2006

When I was engaged the first time i was working as a CNA in a LTC facility. I actually lost my engament ring down the laundry chute!! I spent about 2 hours going through DIRTY laundry and finally found it in a blue pad with POOP!! Apparentely it slipped off when I took my gloves off and i didn't notice until i washed my hands that it went down with the poopy pad!! Guess that should have been an omen as to what my marriage was going to be like!! It went to the pooper too!!

Anyway....Married for the second time to a WONDERFUL man and the only thing I wear to work is my band. No more losing diamonds in the dirty laundry!!