New student: good and comfortable shoes for clinicals

[Kodi A]

Hello everyone,

I know this question may seem a bit unnecessary but a response will be much appreciated..i will be starting my ADN program in the fall (next week)... please I would like to know from previous students and nurses what sort and brand of shoes are most comfortable for clinicals.

[Gangsteroids]

You should probably check your school's nursing course guide to see if they have any mention of your uniform in there. For example, my program requires white leather tennis shoes with no color on them along with the required scrubs in school colors, physical appearance requirements, etc.

[shibaowner, MSN, RN, NP]

I wore Dansko XPs and swear by them. I also wore Nurse Mates Dove and they are also very comfortable.

[Kodi A]

Thanks everyone for your response..i appreciate it my school requires a black nurse shoe or black sneakers. However I am not the sneakers wearing kind cause I have wide foot and a little flat footed.. I will try out the nurse mates although they are really expensive. Thanks guys.

[emmjayy, BSN, RN]

Please go to a shoe store where they have people trained to figure out the best type of shoe for YOU based on an evaluation of your feet, gait, posture, etc. (usually running stores offer this service). I took the advice of many on here to get clogs and they gave me shin splints. If you're ready to cough up a couple of hundred bucks for clogs, you may as well wait a day and go to a shoe store and see if maybe you're better off coughing up a couple of hundred bucks for inserts and a specific type of sneakers instead. It might turn out that they'll tell you to go the clog route, but at least then you'll be more sure that you made the right decision and won't be disappointed when you start clinical and your expensive shoes start bothering you.

If you have a type of shoe that has worked for you in the past with the type of stress nursing causes (lots of standing and walking), I'd suggest starting with that type of shoe. I worked in retail prior to nursing, which in my opinion involved much more standing/walking than nursing does, and sneakers worked fine then for me, so I really don't know what possessed me to try clogs haha.

[Kodi A]

Thank you so much for this information..i was completely unaware I could go to a shoe store and get recommendations..i will definitely be doing that. I am thinking of getting a new pair of toms because it has seemed to work for me in the past but my school wants shoes with a heel..(Don't even know what that means).. I plan to wear my toms to school and hope I don't get sent home for wrong uniform.