Shoes, uniforms, shower after clinical?

emmjayy, BSN, RN · Apr 13, 2017

LOL. I bring my shoes into my home. I don't have a garage or something like that, I live in an apartment and my nursing shoes are fairly pricy sneakers that wouldn't respond well to a Lysol wipe-down anyway. When I first started at the hospital I felt SO dirty after just four hours of clinical and would immediately shower in burning hot water upon getting home, but now that it's been awhile and I'm used to it I am less paranoid. I just toss my scrubs in the laundry hamper and wash my hands before continuing with my day at home.

delawaremalenurse · Apr 13, 2017

I would recommend you don't eat any chocolate until you've washed your hands. That way you're sure it's really chocolate.... :grumpy:

LovingLife123 · Apr 13, 2017

I leave my shoes in the mud room. Simply because sometimes I've stepped in pee and blood and don't want it on my carpet. I take off my scrubs and hope in the shower and just take a quick one. I wash my scrubs with everything else. No hugs or kisses if I've been in ISO rooms all day or I have fluids that splattered on me. But most days my interactions at the hospital are the same as if I went to the market or mall.

EDNURSE20, BSN · Apr 14, 2017

Good hand hygiene is all you need. As long as you wash them your fine.

Never once thought twice about getting into my car after a shift. When I get home, I walk inside with my shoes on straight to my room and take my uniform and shoes off and get changed. That's it. Never caused me any harm.

Think about germs and what most of them need to survive, lead alone do anything else. They're not getting that from shoes and clothes.

jbennett12 · Apr 14, 2017

I take my scrub top off in my car only because I have an hour drive home. My shoes come off as soon as I walk in the door of my house because they were super expensive and I only wear them for work. I wash my scrubs separately and only once I've worn all 6 pairs because they are black and I don't want lint from everything else on them.

CCU BSN RN · Apr 17, 2017

I usually shower after work

I'll stay in my scrubs before/after work for awhile sometimes. I launder them with my other clothes

I wear my work shoes in the house. Sometimes my dog chews on them. .She's still alive.

thelittleRNwhocould · Apr 17, 2017

Depends on the day. If it's a clinical day where I'm doing more observation, I generally don't shower. If I've been elbow deep in an incontinent patient's stool and urine all day.... Different story. I will shower when I get home from my tech job because I work on a pulmonary/oncology floor and I swear I can feel the germs from pneumonia/flu patients crawling through my hair.

I just wash my scrubs with normal clothes in warm water. Take my shoes off at home. If they've been visibly soiled, I generally just clean them at the time that they become soiled. If you think about it, in a hospital setting you have great hand hygiene, protection from pneumonia, the flu, cdiff... You're probably exposed to more germs in a public restroom or talking to someone out in public than you are in the hospital.

Barmherzigkeit · Apr 18, 2017

Thanks for all the great comments, reassurance, and advice. You guys are the best!!!

blackribbon · Apr 18, 2017

In nursing school, I undressed in front of the washing machine and left my shoes by the door. I don't do that as a nurse now but isolations precautions and universal precautions come as part of my regular habits. I also wash my hands before I pee since I work on a gyn unit and see infections in places I don't want infections. I don't subconsciously touch my hair or face anymore on the job. I know in general what germs I have been exposed to and how worried I should be....I mean, if my c.diff patient is waiting to get discharged and has solid stool, then I realize that he isn't really any more risk than the patient not in isolation. However, if she is pouring out liquid poop and I am cleaning her up multiple times a day, then I can guarantee that I am not making a quick stop at the grocery store and can't wait to get out of those scrubs. There is a reason why first year nurse tend to get sick more often than anyone else....good habits are still being established and immunity hasn't built up yet. I won't touch my kids in my scrubs unless I have worked on a "clean" unit like postpartum. I knew people who had immune compromised kids at home who bleach wiped their shoes during our end of clinical conference each day. The floors are some of the dirtiest places because when your patient is actively bleeding or a drain/colostomy bag has leaked, you kick a towel around on the floor while you focus on caring for the patient.

Barmherzigkeit · Apr 19, 2017

I appreciate all of your comments. Thank you so much for sharing.

SurgicalTechCST · Apr 19, 2017

You know what has cut done on sickness in my home? The grocery store started offering antibacterial wipes for the shopping cart handles. Reduced the illness rate to almost nil. Think about it. All those adorable little two-legged petri dishes gnawing and slobbering on the handles. Gross!!! Seriously, we are expose to so much more in the community.

Ditto!!! AND after coming home from shopping, washing hands immediately. Also, I never put my purse in that seat where Lord only knows how many diapered backsides have been sitting, squirming, etc. I either leave it in the trunk of my car, with my cell phone and debit card and driver's license are in my pockets, or I drop the purse down in the cart and run the seatbelt through my purse strap to keep it from "wandering away" in someone else's custody! Safe from crime AND germs at the same time!

Barmherzigkeit · Jun 11, 2017

LOL about seat belting your purse - great idea!