Shoes and watches for school

Nursing Students LPN/LVN Students

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So, I start nursing school on Monday. We have to have all white shoes or all black shoes. I was wondering what type of shoes worked best for others during nursing school in clinical and such. Brands and places to buy shoes. I have nike tennis shoes, but I am thinking I do not want to use them for school. I also need opinions on a second hand watch, as I just use my Fitbit for a watch. Brands and places to get good watches?

Thanks in advance!

I ware champion mesh shoes that I purchased from payless. Those nursing shoes have to be broken in and I have yet to find a pair that I can stand more than 3 hours without wanting to scream. Don't spend a ton of money and purchase shoes that are comfortable to you. About 4 of my classmates of 15 have the same champion shoes they are light weight and very comfortable.

Specializes in Critical Care.

If you have $100ish to spend....Dansko. FTW.

If not, then good running shoes (Asics, Nike, New Balance, etc.) will do you just fine for a while.

If you are on a very tight budget, any running shoe with Dr Scholl's ($15-20) inserts will work.

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I like new balance. My school our shoes must be no holes all leather upper. So no light weight mesh shoes for us.

Get an old fashion timex or something like that needs a second hand. I like bands without lots of stuff on it I have a simple one with a plastic band. Wipes off easily

Specializes in Emergency Department.

Amazingly enough, I used the same brand shoes for both work and for school. The only difference was the color of the shoe. These were very simple Sketchers that looked basically like Oxford-style shoes. I think I picked them up at Walmart for something like $25. Might have been a little higher or lower, but not by much. They had a non-marking sole and a solid toe box. They were actually quite comfortable and once I put in an aftermarket insole (Spenco in my case) the shoes were very comfortable. As for a watch, I've been using digital watches for so long that when I'm taking vital signs, I just do a quick calculation of 15 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 min (depending upon how accurate I need to be) from a given start time. Then I just count the pulse or whatever and stop when I see the predetermined number on the watch.

With an analog watch that has a sweeping second hand, you don't have to calculate time, you just look at 1/4, 1/2 or all the way around from wherever you start. That method is actually easier for most people to deal with as they don't have to think about a second set of numbers. When I do use my analog watch for work, it's like most of my other watches: inexpensive enough to toss should it become horrifically contaminated.

Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

I was *very poor* while in nursing school. PM me or read earlier posts if you want clarification.

In spite of this, I bought danskos. My other option was leather white Nike air. Both were the same price.

I spent good money on them because i knew my feet would hurt if I wore cheap shoes. I have "sensitive" feet. They hurt if I wear anything besides flip flops or good shoes.

My nursing school DON told us that we would bs wise to buy good shoes. She said "you only get 2 knees and 1 back" I believed her.

On the other hand, some people wear Cheap Shoes, such as Skechers and new balance with no problems. Only you know your feet and what they can handle.

I'll tell you, my 2 pairs of quality shoes got me through Lvn school, got me through my 1st nurse job, aged serve me well through rn school.

I had nike air force ones. They were okay, just a little heavy (and expensive).

I don't know what your footwear policy is outside of color requirements, but I would avoid anything mesh, canvas, or fabric. Not only can it end badly if you get bodily fluids on your shoes (it'll soak right through - this is the reason my NS would not allow shoes like that) but if you were to drop a syringe it could go right through mesh/canvas/fabric shoes and into your foot.

Get something leather or thick and durable (like whatever Danskos are made out of) that are easy to wipe clean, resistant to fluids, and that a dropped syringe cannot penetrate.

As for the watch, just get something cheap. It might get wet from frequent hand washing or just damaged in general. I never wore my clinical watch outside of clinical. It just kind of grossed me out to think of all the germs that were probably stuck in all the crevices :alien:. Uniform and scrub stores usually have cheap and basic watches with a second hand for around 15-20. Walmart might be even cheaper.

Good luck!

Congratulations on starting nursing school Molly! I'm a little late but I was wondering the same thing as you a month ago. A great watch is made by prestige it's silver with an expandable wrist. The watch is convienent because when you wash your hands you can stretch it up your arm it also has a second hand sweep and military time which will be needed when you chart. It's about 30.00 in a uniform store but you can get it online for about 20.00 As for the sneakers I just bough sketcher go walk white shoes without laces. Not sure how well these will work to my advantage after standing on my feet all day.. But you may want to look into nurse mate white leather ones. I'd suggest danskos as they are great ( and expensive) but our director said no clogs :( good luck with your journey through lpn school!!!

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